Himawari
by salamanstrom
Summary: Bolt lives in an era of peace, but as Kakashi always said, one must look underneath the underneath. In an age of idealism, where will reality bring Bolt in his quest for understanding? Post-epilogue. Why I decided to call this story Himawari, I'll never know. Rated T for language.
1. I'm the Prankster Prince! Its what I do!

Good tidings everyone! So, I'll be brief. Ever since I read the last Naruto chapter last month, I've had Naruto on the brain, and this story just kind of flowed out of it. I've been reading Naruto for about seven years (I know, less than half of the time it's been around) and having it end is bittersweet. Anyway, this story is about Bolt, Sarada, and Himawari.

(12/6/14) Even though this story did kind of flow out of a few moments of maximal creativity, I'm not too sure of it, so I'll just post the first two chapters tonight to test the waters, haha. Well, whatever the case, I hope you enjoy this story!

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><p>For goodness sake Bolt! Hold still!"<p>

Hinata forced Bolt's yukata closed and tied it with the strap around his core. Bolt, annoyed at his mother's choice of clothes for him, squirmed around trying to get out of the outfit.

"Why do I have to wear a yukata?!" exclaimed an annoyed and unhappy Bolt, rolling his blue eyes. "Inojin doesn't have to wear one!"

"Well, I'm sorry son," said Hinata sympathetically, "but as the Hokage's family, we have to look our best during this festival."

Bolt folded his arms around his chest and rolled his eyes. "Shit…being a Hokage's son is too damn troublesome."

"Bolt!" exclaimed Hinata, her voice rising as her long-fused temper began to shorten, "watch your language!"

Bolt rolled his eyes again. "Yeah, whatever…"

Hinata frowned sympathetically toward her son. Although she was angry that Bolt was using coarse language around her, she could understand her son's dissatisfaction. Ever since Naruto had become the Hokage, the rest of the family rarely got to see him. When he did come home in the late hours of the night, it was only to eat (usually a cup of instant ramen), spend a little time with his wife, then fall asleep until he had to wake up before anyone else in the family and return to his office. Bolt was not alone in his frustration.

Hinata kind of felt it too, but having grown up beside her husband, she understood how much being the Hokage meant to him, and did her best to work around his schedule, especially when he did whatever he could to try and spend what little time he could with his family. This usually meant only a few hours a week.

"Bolt…" said Hinata, rubbing her son's back as she sat next to him on the bed. "I know it's hard, especially with your father working most of the day, but we have to understand that he doesn't just belong to us anymore…he belongs to the village. Everyone respects him and because they respect him, they respect us, because of all the sacrifices that _we_ have to make. This job is very important to your father, Bolt, he's wanted to be the Hokage ever since he was your age."

"Huh," Bolt scoffed, "why would anyone want to be a stupid Hokage. Especially when they can't even spend time with their own kids…"

"That's why I thought you'd be excited for this festival, Bolt," smiled Hinata, "we get to spend the whole night with him."

"Yeah…" said Bolt, "but he won't be spending time with us. He'll just be spending his time _next to_ us."

Hinata sighed. She knew her son was right. "Well, then I guess you can spend your time with your friends."

Bolt gave an angry frown. "None of my friends are here."

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? What about Shikadai?"

"He and his mom head out for the Sand Village whenever school lets out for the summer."

"…Oh…" said Hinata. "That's right. Temari goes back home every summer. But what about Chocho?"

"Same story, different place," replied Bolt, "they all go to the Cloud Village every summer."

"Oh," said Hinata, a little disappointed, "then I suppose Choji won't be spending the festival with us."

"Who's Choji?" asked Bolt.

"Oh," said Hinata quickly, "just one of my old friends. He's Chocho's father."

"What?" laughed Bolt, "you mean that fatso!"

"Bolt!" exclaimed Hinata, "hold your tongue!"

Bolt lowered his head.

"Well, you could play with Inojin, "said Hinata.

Bolt have an audible sigh. "Inojin's such a stick in the mud," said Bolt, "he never wants to do anything fun."

Hinata gave her son a suspicious look. "And what, may I ask, do you mean by that?"

A chill ran down Bolt's spine as he could almost feel his mother eyeing him down. It was especially scary for him as he knew his mother had the Byakugan.

"Oh nothing, nothing," Bolt quickly uttered trying to calm his mother down.

"Bolt?" Hinata questioned, "what are you planning to do tonight?"

"Oh mother," Bolt said in faux innocence, "whatever do you mean?"

"Bolt!" exclaimed Hinata, "tonight is a big night for your father and for our family! You better not play any prank!"

Bolt conceded as his facial expression changed into a huge smirk. "But Mom! It's so easy!"

"No Bolt!" exclaimed Hinata, "I don't want you pulling any pranks! We're still cleaning Gaara's sand out of the village streets!"

"They sure don't call it the Sand Waterfall for nothing."

"And they just finished the repairs on the top of the Third Lord Hokage's mountain head!

"Finding out how I did that really was mind-blowing."

"And Auntie Sakura spent all of last month working overtime healing those people who got allergic reactions from 'The Curry Incident.'"

"Okay, that one was not one of my better ideas, but Lee-sensei really liked it!"

"Bolt! Please!" exclaimed a dead-serious Hinata to her son, "please…no pranks!"

"But!"

"No!"

"But what if!"

"No!"

"But in the event that…"

"Bolt!" exclaimed Hinata, almost shouting, "No pranks!"

"But Mom!" whined Bolt, "I'm the Prankster Prince! It's what I do!"

"Bolt!" said Hinata, elongating the syllables in her son's name for effect. "No pranks! You're the reason why Grandpa Hiashi doesn't invite us to Hyuga events anymore."

"Come on Mom!" laughed Bolt, "don't play games! You don't want to go to those stuffy Hyuga ceremonies anyway!"

Hinata began to frown. "Be that as it may…" began Hinata in a tone that wanted to get to the point and change the subject, "it does not change the fact that your pranks have caused a great deal of trouble in this village and has shamed your father's reputation."

"Dad saved the fucking world, Mom," said Bolt, "pretty sure someone would have to try pretty hard to disrespect that."

Bolt began to laugh. "Even if he kicked puppies or something people'll still bow lower when they meet him.

Bolt began to laugh heavily. "Even if he killed someone or started a war, saving the world would probably get you a comfy place somewhere!"

Hinata give a quick chuckle. "Don't be so sure," she said softly to herself.

"Anyway!" said Hinata standing up from Bolt's bed, "You and Himawari better get ready to go! We leave in five minutes!"

"Whoa!" exclaimed Bolt, "what about Dad! He's not back from work yet!"

"Dad will meet us at the festival grounds."

"Huh!" exclaimed Bolt, "you'd think he's ashamed to walk with us or something."

"Bolt!" said Hinata from another room where she was checking on Himawari, "Don't talk like that!"

Bolt sighed to himself as he looked out the window at the summer evening. The sun had not yet set and a few people of the village were making their way to the festival grounds. Bolt leaned his head on his hand and stared out into the setting sun.

"Guess I'll just play hide and seek with Himawari or something…"

In another part of the village, Sakura was busy dressing herself in her summer yukata. It was white with pink cherry blossoms with a small Uchiha fan on the pink sash around her belly.

"Sarada!" called Sakura, "help me put on my yukata!"

Sarada walked into the room dressed in her pink yukata. Her hair, which normally covered her forehead, was pulled back in a clip and she had some make up on. Despite her dark hair color clashing oddly with her attire, she looked quite adorable. Well, she would have looked adorable, if it wasn't for the scowl on her face.

"Fine Mom," said Sarada, "whatever."

"Thank you Sweetie!" said Sakura cheerfully.

As Sarada tied her mother's sash, Sakura couldn't help but look at her daughter in the mirror in her room.

"Sarada," began Sakura, "why aren't you wearing the sash with the Uchiha fan design on it?"

Sarada raised her eyebrow. "Why should I wear that?"

Sakura gave her daughter a look of disbelief. "Because you're an Uchiha."

"I'm not an Uchiha mom!" said Sarada, "I don't know what that even means!"

Sakura frowned. "It means that you're a part of the great Uchiha clan. One of the most powerful ninja clans in the world."

"Mom…" said Sarada, a little annoyed, "I really don't care about being an Uchiha. I don't know anyone who's an Uchiha. I feel more like you and your parents."

Sakura gave a sad smile. "Sarada…I'm sorry you feel that way. I mean…I'm glad you identify with my and Grandpa and Grandma, but…that's not your only heritage."

As Sarada spoke, she finished tying her mother's sash, "There's only one other Uchiha in the world and its Dad. Who cares about being part of some long dead clan? It's stupid."

"It's not stupid Sarada," said Sakura as she got up to do her hair, "the Uchiha clan is one of the most important ninja clans in history. They descended from…"

Sarada began to tune out. She had heard the Uchiha clan history time and again from her mother, who definitely learned it from her father. Sarada didn't really care about being an Uchiha. Maybe she would have, if she was able to spend more time with her father, but, seeing as she wasn't able to, she didn't really care about clans and all that. Besides, people were marrying and having children so often that who knows who was part of any clan at this point. It was all just words to her.

"And after your father avenged the Uchihas because of the Massacre…"

"Hey Mom," said Sarada, "I have to do something really quick before we go. I'll see you in a few minutes."

Sakura sighed as her daughter left the room. "She never stays for that part of the story…" said Sakura quietly to herself.

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><p>To be continued in chapter 2!<p> 


	2. Someone Who is Special to You

At first, I just wanted to release the first chapter, but then, I figured I didn't start to take off until this chapter. Anyway! I hope you enjoy it!

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><p>"Welcome Lady Uzumaki!"<p>

"Hello Lady Uzumaki!"

"Oh, it's the Hokage's family!"

"Oh! Look how adorable their daughter is!"

"That trouble maker! I can't believe he's the Hokage's son!"

"Welcome! Welcome!"

Hinata, Bolt, and Himawari heard all of these statements and more as they walked into the festival grounds. As they stepped onto the premises, the three of them were forced to bow and say hello to everyone they encountered. While Hinata found it tedious, she was used to it, having grown up in a well to do family herself. Bolt, in similar fashion, found the whole enterprise annoying. Himawari, on the other hand, loved every minute of it.

"Oh! Well if it isn't the Uzumaki clan!" exclaimed a rather large lady approaching the three people, "Oh! And if it isn't the adorable Lady Himawari!"

Himawari gave a large smile at the lady and bowed politely. "It's nice to meet you!"

"Oh!" exclaimed the lady, "you are just a bundle of sunshine, aren't you?"

The lady looked at Hinata. "It's nice to know that the Uzumaki clan has one child it can be proud of."

Hinata gave the lady an "I don't really like your tone of voice" or a "and what is that supposed to mean" kind of look as the mama bear instinct within her clashed with her timid personality. Eventually, realizing her position, she kept these thoughts in her head, much to the depression of Bolt.

"Is everything okay here, Lady Uzumaki?" said a cheerful voice from behind.

The three Uzumakis turned around to find Sai in full ANBU regalia. He gave his trademark fake smile despite having experienced emotions to great extent, being married to Ino and all.

"Oh Sai!" exclaimed Hinata, "hello!"

"I was asked to escort you to Lord Hokage, if that is okay with you."

"Of course," said Hinata with a small smile.

Sai turned his face toward the large lady who had just complimented Himawari/insulted Bolt. "I'm sorry to both the small talk." He tilted his head to the side. "But I'm sure you want to hurry. If you want to make it to the southeast wing in time."

The lady raised an eyebrow. "And why should I go to the southeast wing?"

"Why…" smiled Sai, "isn't that where the rest of the Akimichis are sitting?"

"And why should I sit with the Akimichi clan?" asked the lady, not taking the hint.

"Well…" smiled Sai, "I figured you would want to sit with the rest of your clan. Considering your size, weight, and age, I can only assume you must be their matriarch or something of the sort!"

The lady's eyes perked up as the wires in her head finally connected. "Why I never!" exclaimed the lady.

"Well," smiled Sai, "we should be on our way."

The four of them walked away. As they walked Bolt burst out into a fit of laughter and even Hinata and Himawari covered their mouths with their sleeves as to not be heard of their own chuckling.

"Thank you Sai," whispered Hinata, "I didn't know how to respond. How do you say "thank you for complimenting my daughter" with "how dare you insult my son" at the same time?"

Sai continued smiling. "Well…it is my job to protect the honorable family after all."

Bolt continued laughing. "That was fucking awesome!"

"Bolt!" exclaimed Hinata, "watch your language!"

"Fine!" exclaimed Bolt.

"So, Uncle Sai," asked Himawari, "why aren't you with Auntie Ino and Big Brother Inojin?"

Sai's smile dropped. "Well," began Sai, "I was ordered to work today, since I'm head of the ANBU and all and we're in charge of security for this event."

Bolt scoffed. "We learned in class that the ANBU were once the most elite ninja of the village sent on the most dangerous of mission, and they're just security bums!"

"Bolt!" said Hinata, "you're being rude to Uncle Sai! Apologize!"

"No need," smiled Sai, "Actually Bolt. I'm quite glad that all I do is security work. It means that the world is finally in a sort of temporary peace."

Bolt put his hands behind his head. "Yeah, whatever."

As they approached the festival grounds, the lights bright lights of different colors began to shine from everywhere, enthralling Himawari.

"Bolt!" exclaimed Himawari, "look at all the colors! They're so pretty!"

Bolt smiled at his younger sister. He loved her deeply and really cared for her. She really did make his life better, especially when his father was too busy for the both of them.

"You just wait Himawari!" exclaimed Bolt, "there's going to be fireworks tonight! That'll really be exciting, don't you think?"

"What are fireworks?" asked Himawari.

"You don't remember?" said Bolt, a little shocked, "That's when fire lights up the sky in a bunch of colors. Sometimes they even make shapes and patterns. And at the end, there are so many fireworks that it's almost as if it's daytime!"

"Wow!" exclaimed Himawari.

Hinata smiled at her two children as they spoke together. She knew that Bolt, for all of his flaws, really did try to be a good brother, and knowing that really warmed her heart. It was as if, it proved to her that her son was not really lost as a good for nothing trouble maker. No, he was more than that.

"But Himawari," said Sai, still with his false smile, "fireworks are especially good when you watch them with someone who is special to you."

"Someone who is special to me?" asked Himawari.

"Sai!" said Hinata, giving Sai a quick jab, "don't tell her that!"

"Why not?" asked Sai, "what's wrong with what I just said?"

"She might get the wrong idea!" replied Hinata.

"Wrong idea how?" asked Sai.

The adults continued to talk, Sai still not understanding what was wrong with what he just said and Hinata too embarrassed to say it. Himawari, on the other hand, silently dwelled on Sai's words. "Someone who is special to me…" she said quietly to herself.

Arriving at the festival ground, the family saw their husband and father standing before a large crowd.

"Daddy!" exclaimed Himawari happily.

"Yes Himawari!" smiled Hinata, "we're going to go see Daddy now!"

"Yay!" said Himawari happily as she tried to lunge forward into her father's arms.

Naruto was dressed in the full Hokage outfit including the white robes and the hat. Seeing his father dressed in the clothes, Bolt rolled his eyes as he looked down at the traditional yukata he was forced to wear. As she saw his family, Naruto's face lit up and he bid them to come toward him.

"Daddy!" exclaimed Himawari as she jumped into Naruto's arms. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Sweetie!" laughed Naruto as he lifted up his daughter.

"How are you darling," said Hinata as she and Naruto shared a quick peck on each other's lips.

"Tired as hell, but suddenly reenergized," said Naruto stealing another kiss from his wife.

"Oh brother…" said Bolt looking away, disgusted at old people love.

Naruto frowned. "What's the matter Bolt?" asked Naruto as he put his hand on his son's head. "Not having a good time?"

Bolt rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine, whatever."

"Come on Bolt!" said Naruto, "it's the summer festival! Enjoy it!"

"Sure, yeah, whatever," mumbled Bolt.

"Hey," winked Naruto with a cheeky expression on his face as he bumped his son with his elbow, "you never know? You might meet a girl."

"Naruto!" exclaimed Hinata, "Bolt is too young for that!"

"Aw, come on, Hinata!" laughed Naruto, "the times are changing! What do you think Bolt? You never know at festivals like this! You know, your mother and I fell in love during the Summer Festival."

"It was the Winter Festival," said Hinata, slightly annoyed.

Naruto looked up with a surprised look on his face. "Was it?"

"Yes," said Hinata, "remember, I gave you a scarf."

"Well, yeah I remember that!" laughed Naruto, "that part is important! That makes sense though! I wondered why you would have given me that scarf during the summer!"

Hinata gave Naruto a small smile while Bolt rolled his eyes of tales of his parent's romance.

"Anyway!" said Naruto, "let's get ready for the opening ceremony! Now if I could only find…"

"Hello everyone!" exclaimed Sakura as she approached the Uzumaki family.

"Ah!" said Naruto, "just the girl I wanted to see!"

Sakura gave a skeptical smile. "Hey Naruto, how are you?"

"Great Sakura!" smiled Naruto, "and may I say that you look lovely tonight!"

Hinata winced at Naruto's words as Bolt rolled his eyes again.

"Thanks Naruto! I'd say the same for you, but you wear the same thing every day."

"Ha!" laughed Naruto, "I guess that's all there is to it."

Hinata put her hand on her husband's shoulder.

"You know Naruto…" Hinata whispered, "I sure wish someone complimented me on how I look this evening."

Usually Hinata drops hints, but when it comes to Naruto, she finds the direct approach much more gratifying.

Even though she whispered, Sakura caught sound of what Hinata was saying.

"NARUTO!" said Sakura seeming to rise in anger, elongating the syllables of Naruto's name, "Did you forget to compliment you wife when you saw her!"

Naruto shrank a little. "But!" he exclaimed, "thats a given ain't it?" He grabbed his wife under his arm and pulled her next to him.

"I'd still like to hear it once in a while," whispered Hinata.

"If you didn't have to give a speech!" said Sakura, showing her fist to Naruto.

"Whoa!" said Naruto turning to the stage, "what's that Shikamaru? You need some help?"

"I didn't say anythi…" said Shikamaru.

"Well let me help you out then!" exclaimed Naruto walking over to the stage.

The small group laughed at Naruto's silliness. Even Bolt managed to get a chuckle out of the situation.

"Well, Lady Uzumaki!" exclaimed Sakura, "how have you been?"

Hinata smiled, "Come on Sakura. You know Hinata is just fine."

"Yeah," said Sakura jokingly, "but what makes you think that just Sakura is okay with me?"

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "Sakura?"

"That's Lady Uchiha to you!" smiled Sakura sticking out her tongue to make sure they knew she was joking.

Hinata laughed pleasantly. "How has work been?" asked Hinata, "I know it's been rough since…well…'The Curry Incident.'"

Sakura gave Bolt a look, which caused him to avert his eyes.

"Well, I got the week off from work since I was putting in so many hours last month," said Sakura, "so I just hung around the house and did some chores. Medical ninja have to clean their houses too, you know."

Hinata smiled. "Yes I know."

As the two chatted, Hinata began to look around.

"By the way, Sakura," she said, "where's Sarada?"

"Huh?" asked Sakura looking around. "Oh…I don't know! She's got to be around here somewhere!"

"Well," smiled Hinata, "I'm sure she'll turn up. She'll be safe."

"Yeah," said Sakura, "and even if the times weren't so peaceful, I'm sure I taught her enough to know how to handle a problem."

"Oh?" smiled Hinata, "have you been teaching her jutsu?"

"Yeah! Well, mostly basic stuff from school, Substitution, Transformation, you know the one's, but there's also the one that Sasuke taught me."

"Hey gang!" exclaimed Naruto coming back. "So, we're about to start, so I'm going to need my old teammates to help me out!"

Sakura sighed. "Well, that's as expected."

"Oh?" exclaimed Sai, who was still protecting the honorable family, "if I knew you needed me I'd put on something more presentable."

"Oh…Sai…" said Naruto, an embarrassed blush forming on his face. "Yeah…you're here."

"Yup!" said Sai, the fake smile on his face, so if you need me I'm ready."

"Yeah…" said Naruto awkwardly, "well, actually, since Sasuke couldn't be here and all, I, well, I kind of asked Shikamaru to take his role."

"…Oh," said Sai.

"Look, I'm really sorry," said Naruto.

"No, it's fine…" said Sai.

"No, I mean, I'm really sorry, I didn't even think that…"

"No, no, no. Don't worry yourself. I'll just stand over there and keep watch. Don't worry…"

"Sai…I…"

"No, no, no. Don't bother yourself." Sai said, moving over to the dark corner. "See I'm already here. No problem."

Sai turned to the person next to him. "Hi Shino, how've you been."

"Fine," Shino mustered up to say.

With that, Naruto and Sakura joined Shikamaru on the stage while Hinata, Bolt, and Himawari took a seat at the front.

Suddenly, everyone became quiet as the Hokage lifted his bandaged hand in the air.

"As is customary," said Naruto, "ever since the days of the Honorable Lord Third, that the teammates of the sitting Hokage join in him welcoming the Summer Festival. Yet, as is obvious, the Lord Uchiha is unable to join us, so filling in for him is the Honorable Lord Shikamaru Nara."

Everyone clapped while Bolt began to fall asleep. He really did hate things like this. He knew exactly what would happen afterwards. His entire family would be standing near the front of the tent greeting all the people passing by. They would thank his father for his service, thank his mother for the sacrifices she obviously had to make, comment on how adorable his sister was, and then insult him. It make him sick, and he was not about to repeat that torture again.

Sensing that her son was uncomfortable, Hinata touched Bolt's shoulder.

"Bolt," whispered Hinata, "I know you really don't like things like this. So, just this once, I will let you skip it if you promise me one thing."

Bolt's ears perked up as his mother gave him the once in a lifetime offer of freedom. "Anything! Just name it!" he whispered back.

"Bring you sister with you and keep an eye on her."

"No problem!" exclaimed Bolt.

"Okay then," said Hinata, "then I will let you go. But please Bolt, please, no pranks."

Bolt smiled as he knew his mother was doing her best to help him. He gave a large grin and dragged his finger across his chest.

"The Prankster Prince is on hiatus."

Hinata smiled. She looked to Himawari whose eyes were fixated on her father, even though she didn't really know what was going on.

"Himawari," whispered Hinata, "go with Bolt."

Himawari smiled. "Okay!"

The two children sneakily snuck out of the grounds and got on their way, never leaving their mother's huge, Byakugan range of sight. When they finally dropped out of range, Hinata took a deep sigh. "What have I done," she said, shaking her head.

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><p>Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Actually, since I currently live in Asia, The Last: Naruto the Movie, came out today, but since I don't live in Japan, it doesn't really help me. I probably won't be posting for a while, as I have my final exams here in Hong Kong, and then I will be traveling to Japan and Korea for a few weeks before heading to Singapore. Whatever the case, I know that I'll have something ready by New Years! But you never know! It could come even sooner than that! =P<p> 


	3. Hey! This is Strawberry!

(12/13/2014) Hey everyone! Still in Hong Kong and I've finished 2/3 finals! Since I'm pretty relaxed this Saturday, I thought I'd go ahead and post up chapter 3! I'm really enjoying writing this, so I hope you're all enjoying reading! Lately, I've been reading a lot of the old Naruto fanfiction by Link and Luigi, and they're cracking me up just like they used to. Due to this influence, this chapter was interlaced with more humor than the previous, so I hope you're into that! Since Naruto is a show that can make you laugh, cry, and make your jaw drop during the same battle, I hope this chapter will do it justice.

Anyways, enjoy!

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><p>"Big Brother?" asked Himawari as Bolt ran out into the street holding her hand, "Where are we going?"<p>

"Anywhere we want, Himawari!" exclaimed Bolt, "we're free!"

Himawari smiled at the sentiment, but suddenly a confused expression manifested on her face.

"But…where are we going specifically?"

With that, Bolt stopped dead in his tracks, reality sinking in. It was evening time in the village and there was not exactly a lot to do since the festival had diverted the attention of most of the citizenry.

"…You wanna go get ice cream?" asked Bolt, earning the cheerful approval of his little sister.

"Yay!" exclaimed Himawari as the siblings walked awkwardly toward the nearest ice cream vendor.

When they found one, Bolt made some orders while Himawari watched. She had let go of her brother's hand and was looking around at the happy people walking around her. She really did love festivals. It all seemed like a dream to her. As she looked around, she noticed a firefly pass her by. Interested, she followed the little glow bug as it buzzed down the road, all of which was taking place while Bolt's back was turned.

"Okay Sis," said Bolt turning around with the cones in his hand. "They didn't have rocky road so I got you strawberry. I know that it's pretty random but the chocolate one was…Himawari?"

Bolt watched as his sister skipped down the road chasing a bug. "Himawari!" he called, "come back!"

Bolt chased her down the street, careful not to drop the cones. Although Himawari as young, she was surprisingly fast, and having had a good five minutes head start while Bolt was occupied, was a good ways away from her brother. Enthralled by the little bug, Himawari continued skipping down the road, oblivious to the people, animals, and carts that surrounded her.

Eventually, the bug, realizing that a frightening giant was chasing him, decided to fly upward as to avoid being engulfed in the giant's grubby hands. As the bug flew, Himawari stood in in the middle of the road looking up.

"Come back, Mr. Bug!" she called to the night sky, "I want to see what makes you glow!"

As she stood there, a horse cart began moving fast down the road. The cart driver, doing his best to force the horse to the side, was unable to stop the momentum of the cart as it headed straight for the little girl.

"Himawari!" cried Bolt loudly, "Get out of the way!"

Himawari quickly looked back to earth to see the cart coming at her quickly. The little girl let out a loud scream that filled the parade ground and CRASH! The cart fell over, letting a plethora of goods spill out onto the city street. Bolt shook in fear at the thought of his sister being run over by a cart, until he noticed that the scream was still audible a good 10 seconds after the supposed crash.

"Hi…Himawari?" exclaimed Bolt looking around for the source of the scream. His search ended when he looked beside the overturned cart to find his sister holding the hand of a black haired, bespectacled girl wearing a pink yukata.

"Himawari!" cried Bolt, running to his sister.

"Big Brother!" the little girl shrieked out, still shaken by almost being run over by a cart.

"Are you okay, Sis?" Are you hurt?"

"No," said Himawari as she clutched onto her brother's clothes. "But I was really scared…"

"Good thing this nice lady was there to save you then, huh?" smiled Bolt. "Here's your ice cream."

Still wiping the tears from her eyes, Himawari took the ice cream cone and mustered up a smile toward her brother. "Thank you, Big Brother."

"No problem!" smiled Bolt. With that, Bolt looked up. "And as for you," said Bolt smiling, "oh wait! I know you!"

"Hey! This is strawberry!"

The girl, who you all probably correctly guessed was Sarada, pushed up her glasses and approached the Uzumaki siblings.

"You're in my class, right? With Aburame-sensei?"

The girl scoffed. "Ha, if you can call it a class."

Bolt was puzzled at an insult toward their teacher, especially one that didn't really seem to point out any factual evidences to question the class's identity. Eventually, he just shrugged. "Uh yeah…well…thanks for saving my sister!"

Sarada smirked and looked down. "Well, you know, you do what you have to…"

"Um…yeah…" said Bolt, not really sure how to respond to Sarada's remarks. "So…thanks…"

The two just stared awkwardly at each other while Himawari licked away at her ice cream cone which was not rocky road. At least, they did stand in silence until Bolt came up with something to say.

"Oh!" he said, "if you ever need anything…well…I'm in your debt, I guess."

Sarada just kind of looked around as the silence persisted.

"Well…" said Bolt, "…goodbye…"

"Wait!" exclaimed Sarada, causing the Uzumakis to jump in place. "Give me that!" she said, pointing to Bolt's ice cream.

Bolt, surprised, didn't really know how to react. I mean, he did promise to pay her back somehow, but he certainly didn't think she'd want his ice cream cone.

"Uh…okay…" Bolt started, "Oh yeah! Sure! Take it!"

Bolt handed the ice cream cone to Sarada.

Sarada was also at an impasse. After all of her remarks which were supposed to be witty laugh inducers had failed, her attempt at a joke had also fallen flat on her face. She didn't really want the ice cream cone, but fettered by the situation she had created, she had no choice but to take the cone into her hand.

"Well…" said Bolt, kind of at a loss for words, "enjoy the ice cream…I guess."

"Thanks," was all Sarada was able to think of.

"Well…bye," said Bolt as he turned away. "Thank the nice lady, Himawari."

"I can't…" said Himawari, taking another lick of her ice cream.

"Why not?" asked Bolt, surprised at his sister.

"I don't know her name," said Himawari, "how am I supposed to thank her properly if I don't know her name?"

"Good point!" smiled Bolt as he looked back up to Sarada with a smile.

Sarada just kind of stared at them for a little while, staring at the eager Uzumaki faces that stared right back.

"What?" she finally said.

"What's your name?" asked Bolt.

"You mean you don't know?" exclaimed Sarada.

Bolt kind of blushed and rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "Well…" he said, "to be honest…I forgot."

"Hmph!" exclaimed Sarada in an offended tone. "Well fine Bolt! If that's the way you're going to play it!"

Sarada turned around and began to walk away, leaving Bolt and Himawari just standing there not really knowing what to do.

"Wait!" exclaimed Himawari in her adorable little voice.

"What?" said Sarada, turning her head around with a sassy look on her face.

"Thank you mystery lady!" smiled Himawari, "I'm glad you saved me! My name is Himawari! Himawari Uzumaki!"

Sarada smiled gently at Himawari's innocent face. How could anyone stay mad at her? "My name's Sarada." She gave a quick frown to Bolt and continued walking away from the two.

"Well, thank you Sarada!" continued Himawari, "I hope we will meet again!"

Sarada couldn't help but smile listening to the little girl, but after catching sight of the dumb expression on Bolt's face, she continued walking away from the two.

"…Enjoy the ice cream…" Bolt said stupidly.

Meanwhile, Naruto's speech beginning the festival had ended and, after a tedious amount of greeting citizens, Naruto met up with his old classmates.

"Hey Hinata!" exclaimed Naruto, "where's the kids?"

"Oh…" began Hinata, feeling slightly embarrassed, "I let them go off on their own."

"What!" exclaimed Naruto, "You should have sent Sai with them!"

"Yes," smiled Sai, "then at least I would have some role to play."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he heard the ANBU captain speak. "Are you still on that?"

"Honestly Naruto," said Ino, who was obviously not pleased, "Sai is your teammate, isn't he?"

"Look!" exclaimed Naruto, "don't start blaming me! I was just sitting peacefully in my desk working, when all of a sudden the event coordinator comes up to me saying 'Lord Hokage don't forget, you need to be accompanied by your teammates' and there I was just choking on my ramen!"

"I thought you were working?" said Kiba.

"I can work while I eat!"

"So let me get this straight," said Sakura, "you were working, eating, and having a meeting at the same time?"

"I'm the Hokage! I have a lot to do!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Why didn't you just make Shadow Clones?" asked Kiba.

"What do you think they were doing?"

The group laughed as they were able to rile up their friend, who even though he was their superior was still the same old guy who was so much fun to mess with.

Meanwhile, Bolt and Himawari were wandering the streets of the Leaf Village, trying to think of something to do.

"Well, Big Brother…" began Himawari, "do you think we should go back?"

"No!" exclaimed Bolt, "why should we go back? There's plenty to do out here."

Himawari finished the last of her ice cream cone. "Well, whatever it is, I think we're doing it wrong," she said.

Bolt sighed. He had to think of something. He didn't just want to wander around the village streets not doing anything. His mother had let him side step boring formalities to have fun, with only two conditions: take care of Himawari and don't pull pranks! As he wandered the streets, his eyes perked up when he noticed a familiar face wandering by.

"Hey!" he called, "Inojin! What's going on?"

Inojin jumped up at the mention of his name. He turned around to find Bolt and Himawari running up to him. Inojin kind of wanted to get out of there. His mother, although familiar with and respectful of the Uzumaki family had always told him to stay away from Bolt as she thought he was a bad influence on him. He knew that if his mother saw him with Bolt, he would get a scolding, and Inojin really wasn't looking forward to that. On the other hand, he did notice that his mother was quite fond of Himawari. Eventually, Inojin decided that since it was both Bolt and Himawari, it would be alright to speak with them.

"Um, hi!" said Inojin as he greeted his classmate and his classmate's sister.

"Hi!" smiled Himawari with her face shining like a sun ray.

"Boy," laughed Bolt as he gave Inojin a sharp slap on the back, "you must be really bored without Shikadai and Chocho to boss you around!"

Inojin shrugged his shoulders and rubbed the ache in his back. "Well, I'm used to it," he said, "they've been leaving every summer for as long as I remember."

"Yeah…" said Bolt, "anyway, what are you doing here alone?"

"Oh…" said Inojin, "just playing a game. I actually did pretty well, see."

Inojin showed Bolt his prize: a set of two Demon Wind Shuriken!

"Whoa!" exclaimed Bolt looking at the two large weapons. "You won this! But these are expensive!"

Inojin smiled. "Well," he said, "Ms. Tenten isn't able to sell a lot of these, so she donates them to a bunch of random causes."

Bolt chuckled. "Yeah, pretty random."

"So…" said Inojin, "what are you two up to?"

Bolt shrugged. "Nothing really," he said, "just thinking of something to do."

"Oh," said Inojin a little cautiously. "Well, good luck with tha…"

"Hey!" said Bolt suddenly, "I got an idea!"

He got on his knees and stared at his sister face to face. "You want to be a ninja someday, right Himawari?"

Himawari nodded excitedly. "Yes! I want to be strong like Mommy and Daddy!"

"Well," smiled Bolt, "Do you know where all ninjas start their exciting lives?"

Himawari thought for a moment. "The Ninja Academy!"

Bolt shook his head. "Nope! Well…I mean…yeah, I guess, but that's not what I meant!"

Bolt looked up to Inojin. "Why don't we show Himawari our training ground?"

"Oh…" said Inojin, "I don't know…I should actually get back to my parents soon and…"

Himawari's eyes began to shine. "Big Brother's training ground!" she exclaimed, "I want to see where big brother got so strong!"

"Oh, come on Inojin!" exclaimed Bolt, "how can you say no to this face?"

Inojin looked down at Himawari's excited face that was something between a puppy and Hello Kitty wrapped in sunshine and sprinkles (jimmies if you're from the American South) . Inojin, knowing there was no possible way he could resist, gave a look that said, "Oh gosh, what am I going to do?"

"But…" said Inojin, "why do you need me?"

"But I want to see Big Brother Inojin get strong too!" said Himawari.

"Then it's settled!" exclaimed Bolt with a smile on his face, "let's go to the training grounds!"

"I don't know about this, guys…" said Inojin, "I mean, it's pretty late and the sun will go down soon and the grounds are on the outskirts of the village, and…"

"Ah, don't be a stick in the mud, Inojin!" exclaimed Bolt, "let's go!"

With that, the three of them set of for the training grounds, bubbling with excitement. Well, at least two of them bubbled with excitement, one of them just kind of oozed with excitement.

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><p>I hope you enjoyed this installment! Chapter 4 will be posted soon!<p> 


	4. And I Helped!

Hey everyone! It's my last night in Hong Kong and I wanted to update you all with another chapter. I hope you are enjoying this story. Also, if you feel like leaving a review, please don't hesitate to do so!

Anyway, I hope you liked the old show That's So Raven, cause I stole one of their jokes. Bonus points if you can guess which one!

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><p>Meanwhile, back with the adults, the group continued to chit chat, until talk came to Bolt and Himawari.<p>

"You know," began Shino looking toward Naruto and Hinata, "as Bolt's teacher, I've been wondering something…"

"What is it?" asked Naruto in a tone that said, "Oh gosh, what did he do now?"

"Well," said Shino, "Bolt is not only an Uzumaki but a Hyuga, right?"

Hinata nodded her head. "Nine months of my life can attest to that."

The group remained silent, until Kiba finally asked "What?"

Hinata sighed as her joke failed. "I was joking…" she said, "it's supposed to mean something along the lines of 'I made that baby.'"

"And I helped!" said Naruto proudly.

The group did their best to suppress their collective facepalms. Except for Shino and Sai of course. Shino was too composed for that sort of behavior, and Sai didn't get it.

"Well," continued Shino, unfazed, "has any of them showed any hint of Byakugan capabilities?"

"I don't think so, Shino," said Ino, speaking about a subject she obviously knew nothing about.

"I mean, aren't Byakugan users supposed to have white eyes?" continued Ino, posing a very logical inference despite having no first-hand experience with Byakugan genetics.

"Well…" started Hinata slowly, "I'm not sure actually. I mean, from what I know you have to have white eyes to use the Byakugan properly but…"

"But what?" asked Lee.

"Well," said Hinata, "when Naruto became Hokage, he had to work a lot, but still wanted the kids to know he was around. So he used to leave a Shadow Clone to play with the kids…but…"

"They automatically started crying when my Shadow Clone would pick them up or even say hello," said Naruto. Suddenly, his voice dropped to a whisper as if he was speaking about some frightening news. "It's as if they knew!"

"Oh wow!" exclaimed the group.

"We've been meaning to send them to the Hyuga compound to see if they need any Byakugan training," said Naruto.

"But, we're not exactly sure they're ready for that kind of thing!" Hinata remarked quickly.

"Well," smiled Lee, "it's good to know the blessings of youth have been granted upon our children!"

"Yes!" exclaimed Sakura, "I couldn't help but see you training with your son. I hope you're not pushing him too hard."

Lee smiled. "Of course not! Me and [{{Name Withheld Until Canonical Announcement}}] have been taking it slow! I do not plan on bringing in Gai-sensei's regiment until he has graduated from the academy!"

"That's wonderful," smiled Hinata, "of course, I'm sad to see that Choji and Chocho were unable to be here." Hinata looked toward Shikamaru, "and Temari and Shikadai, of course."

Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders. "Well, what can I do? I guess I just have to realize that my son's not just a Leaf Ninja. He's a Sand Ninja too."

"Boy!" said Tenten, "that would be a huge dilemma if there was ever a war."

"War!" exclaimed Naruto thanks to selective hearing as he was dozing off due to children talk, "What war? Who's going to war?"

"Relax Naruto!" said Tenten, "it was just a hypothetical."

"Geez, Tenten," said Naruto getting back to his seat. "Don't say that word! It freaks me out!"

"Dear…" said Hinata, patting Naruto's back, "I don't think that's what Nagato meant…"

"You can't be too sure!" said Naruto, "last time I was in a war I lost a fucking arm!"

Hinata sighed as she disapproved of her husband's diction.

"By the way," said Hinata looking at her former teammates, "I'm surprised you two don't have kids of your own!"

Kiba and Shino shrugged their shoulders. "We probably do," said Kiba quietly.

"Yeah," said Shino, just as quietly, "unfortunately they're just haven't arrived yet."

"Having such few kids is dreadful!" exclaimed Lee, "in the hypothetical situation that someone should want to utilize our children in some sort of creative enterprise, having so few a number makes it hard to work with."

"Not like us," said Tenten, "we're a plethora of personalities and just bubbling with a variety of possible plots."

The rest of the adults nodded their heads in agreement. -_-

When Bolt, Inojin, and Himawari arrived at the training ground, Bolt dug a hole under a nearby tree, much to Inojin's confusion and Himawari's interest. Out of the hole, Bolt pulled up a box in which he kept another set of clothes. Hiding in the bushes to change, Bolt jumped out in his usual attire. Inojin was already in his regular clothes and Himawari just watched in her yukata.

"Alright Inojin!" exclaimed Bolt, "let's show Himawari how two ninjas in training do it!"

Inojin just kind of loafed around. "I don't know Bolt," said Inojin, "I mean we saw the training grounds…why don't we get back? I mean, it's already dark, the fireworks will start soon."

"The fireworks won't start for another four hours!" exclaimed Bolt, "c'mon Inojin, let's just spar a little."

"Look Bolt," said Inojin, "I just really don't feel like sparring right now."

"What!" exclaimed Bolt, "why did you come when you didn't feel like sparring?"

"Because you made me!"

"Why do you think we wanted you to come?"

Himawari looked back and forth while her brother and Inojin argued about why one of them wanted to spar and why someone invited whoever to what place. In Himawari's view, it was all very noisy, but being more than very noisy, it was all very tedious.

"Uh, guys…" said Himawari when she found the chance.

"Yeah?" asked the two blonde boys.

"If Inojin doesn't want to spar, Big Brother," said the little girl, "why don't you just ask Sarada?"

"What?" exclaimed Bolt, "what are you talking about? Sarada's not here."

"Yes she is!" exclaimed Himawari, "Look!"

Himawari pointed behind her, and realizing her cover was blown, Sarada stepped out from behind the tree.

Not even questioning the fact that Himawari seemed to be able to see someone hiding behind a tree from _behind _her head, Bolt was surprised to find that Sarada had been following them.

"Oh…hey!" said Bolt, not really sure what to say. He was especially confused as Sarada seemed to be dressed in her normal attire and not in her pink yukata.

Sarada turned her head away from the other kids, a little pout on her face.

"Sarada Uchiha?" questioned Inojin, "what are you doing here?"

Sarada, still not looking at the others gave a shrug.

"Maybe she wants to fight you guys?" Himawari posited. "Or maybe," she continued, "maybe she likes you, Big Brother."

Bolt jumped up at Himawari's bold assertion. "What!?" he exclaimed.

Sarada, though on the other side of Himawari gave an equally shocked reaction.

"Don't worry, Bolt," smiled Himawari, "she's pretty! You'd make a great couple!"

Sarada twitched and ran toward the group. Lifting up her fist she headed straight for Bolt.

"Idiot!" she screamed as she hit Bolt's head, pushing him back a little bit.

"What?!" shouted Bolt as he was pushed back, "what did I do?"

Sarada was a little embarrassed. She wanted to dispel Himawari's seeds of a rumor, but she wasn't about to hit a defenseless little girl. Then again, hitting Bolt just made her seem psychotic. Confused about what to do next, Sarada did the only thing she could think of: turn away.

Bolt and Inojin didn't really know what to say. Neither of them really had much experience with women. Sure, Bolt had Himawari, but Himawari and Sarada were barely comparable. Inojin, on the other hand, had less excuse, but in his experience of women, he finally decided that any Venn diagram he could make of the women in his life would be so divergent it wouldn't be functional, so he gave up on trying to figure out women.

"Um…" began Inojin, "so, if you don't mind me asking. Why are you here?"

Sarada didn't know what to reply. She had been caught without an excuse. "Is it a crime to walk around your own village?"

Bolt rubbed the bump on his head. "Guess not," he said, "but its one thing to run into someone. It's another thing to see them on the outskirts dressed in their battle clothes."

"Hmph!" Sarada said, still facing away.

"Do you want to play with us, Sarada?" asked Himawari with a smile.

"We're not playing Sis!" said Bolt, "this is high level ninja training!"

"But you didn't even start to fight…" said Himawari.

The kids went on conversing in their adolescent awkwardness, not noticing a figure was watching them from a tree branch.

"Ha!" whispered the figure to himself, "well, looks like a treasure trove over here! The Hokage's daughter…I bet he would pay a hefty ransom for her…"

The man, for the figure was not only a man, but a ninja, smiled to himself and lifted up his right hand to make a hand sign.

"And they're a bunch of kids too!" he laughed, "this is going to be the easiest money I've ever made."

With that, the kids began to feel sleepy as the sleep genjutsu began to envelop the training ground.

"Whoa…" said Inojin, his eyes slowly closing, "what…what's going on?"

Sarada's eyes widened. "This…this is a genjutsu!"

"Himawari!" said Bolt tiredly as he looked toward his little sister.

Himawari's chin had fallen to her chest and her eyes had already shut. She had fallen under the genjutsu first as she had still not undergone even academy-level ninja training.

Bolt looked back at Sarada and Inojin who were already on the ground, hit hard by the sleep genjutsu that was falling on the four of them.

"What…the hell is going on here…" said Bolt, as he felt his own eye lids grow heavier. Before his eyes closed, she saw the feet of the adult ninja approach Himawari.

"Oh!" the voice trickled into Bolt's ear as he began falling asleep. "The Hokage's son is here too?"

From shear willpower, Bolt was able to continue staying conscious.

"Well," laughed the ninja, "I don't really want to cause any international incidents, and besides…"

The ninja turned his head towards Bolt, "someone has to tell the story. Ain't that right kid?"

Bolt bit his lip as he looked up at the ninja. His vision was getting blurry, but all that he could make out was that the kidnapper had white hair and a large, black thing on his back.

"What do you want with my sister?" asked Bolt.

"I'm surprised you could last this long," smiled the ninja, "you're no ordinary kid, are you?"

The ninja picked up Himawari and put her over his shoulder. "Well, anyway," smiled the kidnapper, "tell your Dad that a ransom note'll be in the mail."

With that the ninja jumped toward the forest, disappearing into the dense backdrop of trees.

"No!" said Bolt as the sleep finally overtook him, "Hima…wari…"

As Bolt uttered the name of his sister, he was engulfed by the genjutsu, allowing his head to fall to the ground below him.

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><p>Thank you everyone for your interest in this story! I really appreciate it! Chapter 5 coming soon!<p> 


	5. Except for that Fox, I Guess

Hello everyone! I am currently in Ashiya in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. I am spending Christmas here before I continue my travels. If any of you plan to ever visit Japan, try not to come in winter or summer, because it is very, very cold in the winter, and from what I hear, incredibly hot in the summer. In case any of you are wondering, I am planning to update this story once a week, but, it being Christmas and all, I thought I'd release a chapter early! Haha!

By the way, it is Christmas in Japan, so it may not be the 25th where you live.

P.S.: This chapter has nothing to do with Christmas.

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><p>"Himawari!" exclaimed Bolt as he awoke. Having just awoken from slumber, Bolt hoped to high heavens that, cliché as it would be, that the past night's experience was all a dream. But, finding himself in the training ground with Sarada's surprised face upon meeting Bolt with such an interjection fixed in Bolt revealed the truth. Himawari had been kidnapped.<p>

"What's going on?" asked Bolt, looking at Sarada.

"You were under a genjutsu…" said Sarada shyly. "I just woke you up."

"Really!" said Bolt, "how did you manage to do that?"

"I know the release technique and I used it as soon as I felt the sleep genjutsu begin to fall."

"Oh…" said Bolt, "wait! You mean you were awake the whole time?!"

Sarada nodded her head.

"So you heard everything!? Did you see where he went? How much time has passed?"

"Well…" said Sarada, "it all should have been less than a minute ago."

"Then there's still time!" said Bolt, "we can go get her!"

"What!" exclaimed Sarada, "what are you talking about?! We have to get our parents!"

Bolt thought for a second while his eyes turned toward Inojin who was still sleeping.

"Did you wake him up yet?" Bolt asked.

"Yeah," said Sarada, "but even though you and I fell forward and were able to break our falls with our arms, he fell on his back and hit his head. So, even though the jutsu's been dispelled, he should be out for a little while."

"Okay," said Bolt, "then Sarada, take Inojin back to the village to get our parents. I'll go after the kidnapper."

"What!" exclaimed Sarada, "what are you thinking! You can't go after him alone!"

"There's no other way!" said Bolt, "while we're wasting time talking, the kidnapper is getting farther and farther away! We have no time to lose!"

Bolt tried to jump away, but was quickly stopped by Sarada.

"Bolt!" said Sarada angrily, "if you go alone…you will die."

Bolt gave Sarada an angry look. The two of them stood there for only a second when Bolt moved Sarada's arm out of the way.

"I don't care, Sarada," said Bolt, walking past her. "My sister is in danger and I'll be damned if I'm just going to fucking wait around."

Sarada stood, shocked. As she watched Bolt jump into the trees, she blinked for a while. Before Bolt was out of sight, she called, "Why do you care so much? I mean, I know you're her brother an all, but why are you willing to go this far?"

Before Bolt jumped any further, he turned his head back to Sarada. Bolt, with a large grin on his face, faced Sarada and said, "Because…I promised her…I promised my parents…and I promised myself, that I would take care of her with my own life."

Bolt turned back toward the trail of trees that lay before him. "And I never go back on my word," he said, "Because that is my nindo…my ninja way."

Bolt jumped out into the woods, hopping from tree to tree to catch the kidnapper. As he disappeared from sight, Sarada stood by in surprise.

She looked back at Inojin's sleeping body for a while. "…I'm sure he'll be fine," she said before following Bolt into the woods.

"So anyway!" said Naruto to his group of friends. "I've been busy as hell everyday recently."

"And when he says recently," said Hinata, "he means for the past couple of years."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head with his hand, a little embarrassed at his wife's comment.

"Even though I hate to admit it," said Naruto, "she's right." Naruto sighed as he leaned back in his seat, "To think that I've wanted to do this job all my life…"

Such a comment jolted surprise in Naruto's friends, as it began to seem that Naruto was beginning to regret being Hokage, which would be completely ironic and a total assault on the original Naruto story.

"Not to say that I regret it," said Naruto with a smirk.

Whew! That was close one.

"Well…" said Kiba, "Don't think we don't appreciate all the work you've done for us."

Naruto smiled at Kiba's comment. "Well thanks Kiba! I mean, you all shouldn't feel bad. I've enjoyed every minute of being Hokage. The only problem is that I'm a little disappointed that I don't get to see my family as often as I would like to…"

"Yeah," said Sai, "I imagine that would be kind of tough."

"But, as a great man once said…," said Naruto with a nostalgic and somewhat sorrowful smile, "'a ninja is one who endures!'"

The group nodded in agreement, small smiles on their faces. Those with children imagined what life would be without seeing them as often as they did, and even though it seemed like it would be a lot less work, it was also kind of depressing.

"I imagine Bolt takes it pretty hard," said Shino, "considering that he does most of his pranks to get your attention."

Naruto gave a depressed nod. "I just wish that he used his time more productively…he could be such a great ninja…"

Hinata sighed as well as the group looked around for some sort of response to Naruto's statement.

Meanwhile, Bolt and Sarada continued jumping through the trees following the kidnapper as fast as they could.

"This'll show my Dad!" said Bolt as he sped up.

Sarada raised an eyebrow toward the yellow haired menace. "You got something against your Dad?"

Bolt was surprised that Sarada had heard his mumblings. He didn't really know what to say, so he just resorted to his fall back plan: answering questions with questions.

"What's it to you?" said Bolt, a little annoyed at the threat of having to explain himself to someone.

"…I just wondered is all…" said Sarada, "I mean…I never expected anyone to have anything against Lord Hokage. Especially not his son."

Bolt was a little surprised, and Sarada shared the same sentiment. Now that Sarada wasn't trying her best to be pleasant, she was actually able to be real with Bolt, even communicating effectively with him, something that she was usually unable to do with other people.

Bolt shrugged. "I dunno…" he said, "It's just, I'm tired of Dad ignoring me! I mean, I get that's he's Lord Hokage and all and he's the leader of the Village, but why does that have to be at the cost of being leader of his own family! I'm sick of it! I never get to see him!"

With that last line, Sarada's interest peaked. Here was Bolt arguing that he never got to see his father, yet it seemed obvious that Bolt had just been with his father, unlike…

"You know what Bolt!" exclaimed Sarada as they were jumping through the trees. "I'm almost offended hearing you talk about how little time you spend with your father. I mean…yeah…I know it can't be easy but you have to stop using it as some excuse!"

"What!?" replied Bolt angrily, "Do you even know what it's like to have a Hokage for a father? Every single time I try and do something all I hear about is 'How disappointed your father will be" this and "Is this the behavior of a Hokage's son?" that, and I'm sick of that shit! I mean, what good is it to have a father if he won't even take some to times to spend time with you! Hell! If all he wanted to do was to work all day, he shouldn't have had me in the first place!"

Sarada stopped, standing on a tree branch while Bolt continued. Seeing that his companion had stopped, Bolt turned around and hopped toward her.

"What are you doing!" he exclaimed, "the guy who took Himawari is getting away!"

Sarada stared Bolt dead in the eye for a few seconds. "Bolt…" she began, "how many times a day do you see your father?"

Bolt furrowed his eyebrows. "Can't we walk and talk?"

"BOLT!" exclaimed Sarada, "how many times a day?"

Bolt shrugged. "I guess I see him in the morning and catch a glimpse of him at night…look what does this have to do with anything?"

There was a loud slap as Bolt's face became intimately involved with Sarada's hand. Bolt, surprised at his companion's sudden action, quickly put his own hand up to the mark on his face.

"What the hell was that?" asked Bolt.

"Shut the fuck up!" exclaimed Sarada, "just shut up!" Small tears had begun to appear in her eyes. She took off her glasses and wiped away her tears with her sleeve.

"You see your father every day! Every day! And you still complain about not seeing him enough! And then you go and say that I don't know anything?! I never see my father! I haven't seen him for five years! It's been so long that…I can barely even remember what his face looked like…"

Bolt's jaw dropped as Sarada began to cry. He really didn't know what to do in this situation, and honestly, what pre-adolescent boy knows how to deal with a crying girl his age.

"Sarada…" Bolt said quietly, trying to comfort her.

"Look Bolt…" said Sarada, "I know that we both have issues with our Dad's…but don't let that be an excuse for being stupid."

With that, Sarada continued leaping along the tree branches, intending to find the kidnapper.

Still surprised and stinging, Bolt followed suit.

Naruto and the gang continued chit-chatting, but the conversation had taken a depressing turn as it now centered on Naruto's busy schedule and all the time he was unable to spend with his kids. Naruto spoke the entire time with a look of disappointment in his face, which was completely contrary to his usually energetic demeanor.

"Boy, it really can't be easy, huh," said Lee, "I mean, I don't know what I would do if I wasn't able to spend enough time with my son…"

"Lee!" exclaimed Tenten, "you're being rude. Don't keep rubbing it in!"

"No…" said Naruto, "I understand. I mean, I really wish I was able to spend more time at home. I still remember before I became Hokage when the kids and Hinata and I would play in our backyard. And the meals at Ichiraku. And the trips to the Cloud Village back when I was the diplomatic envoy…but…even though I look back at those memories a little sadly, I can't help but think that this'll be good for Bolt."

"How do you mean?" asked Sakura.

"Well…" said Naruto, "I mean…I know that I was alone a lot as a kid, but I think that it all kind of …well…made me stronger. Don't get me wrong! I don't wish the same treatment for Bolt, not at all! That would be totally horrible, but unlike me, Bolt has friends…it's just that…I think that having some conflict in his life will empower him to be a little stronger…"

The rest of the group thought back to the old days. Although they were born into a time of peace, it eventually turned into a period where there were constant threats that included everything from Zabuza to Kaguya, which in fact made them stronger, even if it wasn't exactly the best situation for the world.

"I just hope that Bolt can learn to overcome it," said Naruto, "but I also want to make sure that I'm there for him just enough that he doesn't feel the need to fall into darkness."

"Or get targeted as Orochimaru's new body," suggested Kiba, earning him a dirty look from Sakura.

The group was silent or a while, letting Naruto's words sink in, when suddenly, Shikamaru spoke up.

"Hey Naruto…" said Shikamaru.

"Yeah?" said Naruto, a dreamy look on his face as he was proud of his mini-speech he had just given.

"You didn't have any friends growing up, right?" said Shikamaru.

"Uh…yeah…" said Naruto with a skeptical look in his eyes, "that's kind of the most definitive part of my life…I mean, except for that fox…I guess…"

"But…" said Shikamaru, "if I recall, you actually spent quite a bit of time with Choji, Kiba, and I…"

Naruto's eyes widened as he thought back to the past. "Oh yeah…I did actually…back in the academy…"

"I mean," said Shikamaru, "we weren't exactly the Ross, Joey, and Chandler and all, but you could argue that we were kind of a group. I mean, we used to get in trouble together."

"That's right…" said Naruto thoughtfully, "wow…that is a major hole in this story…"

The rest of the group laughed since it really didn't matter.

The kidnapping ninja, carrying Himawari on his shoulder, stopped by a road for a little while.

"Let's see," he thought looking for a sign or something to indicate which way he should head. As he looked around, he heard something clutter behind him, forcing him to turn around.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he said as he saw Bolt and Sarada emerge from the forest. "The children of the leaf. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Now, not threatened with unwanted sleep, Bolt and Sarada could see the kidnapping ninja clearly. He had neck length, white hair with a Mist Village headband on his head. On his body he wore a deep blue flak jacket as was common with the Mist Village ninja. On his back he carried a huge, black sword and he also possessed a set of sharp, shark-like teeth.

Upon seeing him clearly, Bolt was shocked. "W…wait…" he said, "you're a Mist Ninja!"

Sarada's eyes widened as she realized Bolt was right.

"But…" said Sarada, "we're allied with the Mist Village aren't we?"

"Why has the Mist Village attacked the Leaf Village?!" inquired Bolt.

The Mist ninja began to laugh loudly. "Don't get me wrong," said the Mist ninja, "I'm not here on behalf of the Mist Village. The alliance is not threatened in any way."

He set down Himawari and grabbed the hilt of his sword.

"I am here of my own volition," said the ninja as he crashed his gigantic sword onto the ground.

Bolt and Sarada were shocked at the sword. It looked incredibly heavy, and the way it looked like a butcher's knife intimidated them to no end.

"Ha!" laughed the ninja as he saw their expressions, "your generation that knows nothing of war. So scared of a simple weapon…or perhaps…maybe you're just well versed enough in your history…"

The ninja disappeared and reappeared behind Sarada, placing the blade of his sword along her neck.

"…to know that Kubikiribocho is no ordinary weapon!"

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><p>I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! If you wish to leave a review, please do not hesitate to do so. As for me, I'll do my best to update this story as consistently as possible!<p>

God bless us everyone.


	6. You Were Kind of a Dick

A little late, but here it is! Chapter 6, here and in person...text...aw, never mind you get it! Enjoy! If you feel the need to review, please do not hesitate to do so!

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><p>"So Shino," began Ino, "how exactly is Inojin doing at the academy?"<p>

Shino shrugged a bit. "What do you want me to say? He's keeping up with the class, doing well. His kenjutsu is quite exceptional, especially with his own short sword."

Sai nodded. "Yes, I've been spending extra time with him working on his kenjutsu."

"But he needs to be more well-rounded, Sai!" said Ino, a little frustrated that her son was not at the top of the class.

Sai tried to calm his wife down while Shino continued. "Don't worry Ino," he said, "Inojin will be a fine ninja. He just needs to build up some self-confidence."

"Well," said Ino, "that's good to hear I guess."

"So Shino…" began Naruto, speaking a little naughtily, "why don't you tell us…who's at the top of the class?"

"Naruto!" exclaimed Hinata, a little flustered. "That's not an appropriate thing to ask."

"Come on, Shino!" coaxed Naruto, "tell me! The Hokage should know shouldn't he?"

"This is just going to be another excuse for a competition!" said Hinata.

"Who's competing with who!?" laughed Naruto, "I'm just interested to know about the next class of ninjas. I'm the one who assigns them missions, aren't I?"

Shino shook his head. He didn't exactly want to speak to fast, as he knew that anything he said could and would be used against him by the proud parents. Of course, he decided to try to ease his way out of it. Using every bit of his diplomacy, he tried to explain the complicated situation.

"Well," said Shino, "since there's still time before they graduate, all of the kids still have much room for improvement. We've only just introduced the basic ninjutsu and genjutsu release, so they still need some time to train in that before I have the liberty to say who is number one."

"Shino!" exclaimed Naruto, "that's a cop-out!"

"Actually Naruto," said Shikamaru who was leaning back on his chair with his arms creating a makeshift pillow. "I would say Shino's actually being quite reasonable."

Naruto pouted, "Yeah whatever."

"Look Naruto," said Shino, "if what you actually want to know is where Bolt ranks in all of this, I'm afraid of being too honest," said Shino. "I mean, Bolt is a very strong ninja, ranking pretty well in terms of kenjutsu and taijutsu and moderately good at introductory ninjutsu and genjutsu, but he can't…"

"He can't focus on anything?" Hinata finished, both asking a question and finishing Shino's sentence.

Naruto sighed. "Well, whatever."

"Don't look too depressed Naruto," smiled Sakura, "I think I remember a ninja who couldn't focus in class, and he became the Hokage."

Naruto smiled at his teammate. "Yeah! I mean, I know Bolt can be a great ninja, and actually, I think he also wants to be one. I'm just disappointed to see him act exactly how I did when I was his age."

The group laughed as they reminisced. "Yeah," laughed Tenten, "you were kind of a dick."

Everyone in the group just stared at Tenten for a while, trying to remember if there was ever a time when Tenten was experienced Naruto's antics as a child.

The Mist ninja pulled his blade, effectively decapitating Sarada. Bolt froze in fear at the sight of the attack, but suddenly, when what he thought was the girl's head hit the forest floor, it turned out to be a log.

"What's this?" said the ninja with a smirk, "a substitution?"

"What the…!" exclaimed Bolt as he realized that Sarada's body was just a collection of logs from around the forest.

Sarada jumped from a tree and appeared next to Bolt

"Sarada!" exclaimed Bolt, "are you okay? What was that?"

Sarada pushed back her glasses. "What's the matter, Bolt?" laughed Sarada, "ever heard of the substitution jutsu?"

Upon seeing Sarada's face alive and well, Bolt took a deep breath. "This is really happening, isn't it?" said Bolt, "A real ninja fight."

Sarada stood in silence for a while. "Yeah…it is."

Bolt smirked as well. "Well," he said, "that's all there is to it then."

Bolt pulled up his hand and focused his eyes into his palm.

"Come on…" he said to himself. "Come on…!"

Back in the Village, the adults were still talking about Bolt's studies at the academy and his growing up in home.

"Anyway," said Naruto, "what I was trying to say is that…even though I know that Bolt can be a great ninja…I have some concerns."

"What do you mean?" asked Lee.

"Well," said Naruto, "Bolt inherited a lot of chakra from me. And that's great! I'm really impressed that Bolt has so much chakra at his disposal. It's just that…"

Back in the battlefield, Bolt began to rush the Mist ninja, raising his hand to his side.

"Come on…" thought Bolt, "Come on…!"

As he ran forward, a small blue orb appeared in Bolt's hand. The Mist ninja, upon recognizing the attack, widened his eyes.

"It can't be…" he thought, "at his age?"

"Wow…" thought Sarada.

Within the same moment, Bolt jumped up in front of the ninja and lifted up his hand.

"Here I go!" Bolt shouted.

"What I mean…" said Naruto, kind of disappointed as his friends looked at him intently, "is that… even though Bolt has a lot of chakra and a lot of talent…he has no chakra control whatsoever…"

"RASENGA…!" Bolt shouted jumping the Mist ninja who had his sword covering his face.

As Bolt lowered his hand, the orb had completely dissipated. Leaving his bare hand on the side of the blade of the Ninja's sword.

"No!" he thought to himself. "Not now! Not now of all times!"

"What?" asked Shikamaru as Naruto spoke his mind?

"It's true…" said Hinata. "Naruto trains with Bolt sometimes, and Bolt still doesn't have the ability to use his chakra efficiently."

"When I taught him the Shadow Clone Technique," said Naruto, "sometimes he would summon one clone, and other times he would summon thousands, and sometimes…he wasn't able to summon any at all."

"Whoa," said Lee.

"It's not something incurable," said Shino, "most of the kids aren't able to use their chakra completely efficiently yet."

"Yeah…" said Naruto, "but with that talent, I'm afraid he's just wasting it…It's not like I don't know it's fixable…it's just that Bolt doesn't want to take the time to work on it."

Hinata looked down sadly. She knew the truth. Bolt didn't want to work on his chakra control unless he had his father to train him. That's why he had been slacking with his ninja training recently.

The Mist ninja, seeing that Bolt's attempt at a rasengan had failed, grabbed Bolt by the neck and drew his little body close to his own.

"What's the big idea, kid?" said the ninja in a cheeky voice. "What're you trying to do, kill me? That wouldn't be very nice."

Bolt struggled to get out of the ninja's grasp, but found no way of breaking free.

"You know what they say, kid," laughed the ninja as he tightened his stranglehold, "an eye for an eye and all that…"

Bolt looked back to Himawari's lifeless body as it lay curled up on the side of the forest.

"Himawari…" thought Bolt as he continued to struggle. Thinking it was the end, he began to stop struggling, feeling the hold tighten more and more.

"Actually Sakura," said Shino as the conversation progressed. "Sarada is doing very well. And I'm sorry to say Naruto and Hinata, but Sarada's chakra control must be the most advanced of her age group."

"Well…" laughed Sakura as she changed the subject. "I know that I wasn't much of a help to all of you guys when we were kids…"

Sakura quickly lifted up her hand as she knew her friends were going to object.

"No," she admitted, "it's true. I wasn't able to do very much to help you all."

"But…" Sakura continued with a smirk, "don't think that I'm not able to teach my daughter right. Sarada has Sasuke's chakra. She's amazingly strong. And not only that, but I've made sure that her chakra control is top notch."

The rest of the adult snickered silently as they listened to Sakura toot her own horn.

"So…" said Sakura, "just because I wasn't able to do much for you all back then, don't think Sarada is going to be useless!"

"Fire Style!" came a voice from the trees, "Giant Fireball Jutsu!"

A huge ball of flames emerged from Sarada's mouth. The Mist ninja, surprised at the huge fireball emerging from such a little girl, jumped out of the way, letting go of Bolt as the hot flames burnt up the surround trees and grass like a flamethrower. Unable to breath out anymore flames, Sarada lowered her hand.

Bolt was on his hands and needs on the grass as Sarada quickly ran next to him.

"Bolt!" she said, "are you okay?"

Bolt was still shaken from the events preceding, believing that his life was almost over. Now seeing that he was free, he was still shaking.

"I…I…I don't know…" said Bolt, "I don't know if I can do it…I don't know if I'm strong enough…"

As Bolt shook, he heard Sarada give a quickly laugh and help him to his feet. Bolt looked at Sarada's face, surprised that she had laughed at his trauma.

"What's the matter," said Sarada with a smirk, "scaredy cat?"

"Okay…" said the Mist ninja, his voice starting to rise, "now I'm angry…I've been holding back a lot, since you're all just little kids, but I guess I've underestimated you all too much. With an attack like that, I have no doubt that you're an Uchiha."

Bolt raised an eyebrow and looked at Sarada. "An Uchiha?!" exclaimed Bolt, "you mean…you're the daughter of…"

Sarada shot Bolt a look that forced him to shut his mouth.

"You're his daughter alright…" smiled the ninja. "I guess I didn't see it until now."

Sarada's eyes widened. "You knew my Dad?"

The ninja nodded, but the smile disappeared from his face. "But don't think that I'm going to go easy on you.

The ninja lifted his sword and put it back on his back.

"In fact," he smiled as he moved his hands into a hand seal. "You could say there's some bad blood between us."

"Liquefy!" he suddenly exclaimed before he turned his body into water and splashed on the ground.

Bolt and Sarada, never before seeing such a ninjutsu, were surprised. Sarada lifted up a kunai to protect the two of them while Bolt still took some time to recover.

"Come on Bolt…" said Sarada, "snap out of it…I need your help on this one…"

Suddenly, out of the grass the body rematerialized under Himawari in a way that the Ninja was now holding Himawari in an arm and held the sword next to her still sleeping face.

Sarada gasped in shock and Bolt was suddenly perked up by the sudden threat on Himawari's life.

"Look kids…" said the ninja, "I don't want to kill anyone here…I may be the Second Coming of the Demon, but I don't want to kill a little girl. Especially not one as adorable as this one. So let's just be honest with ourselves. You can't beat me, so just leave me be and you'll get her back in a few days after the village pays me the ransom."

Bolt gulped and considered the ninja's words. It made sense…he was just a kid after all, would this be the wiser decision? Bolt was about to speak, when suddenly Sarada spoke up.

"We're not giving in!" she said in her angry, shrill voice. "I don't care if we die…we promised to protect her or die trying!"

The ninja raised his eyebrow in surprise. "Why? Why would you go so far? And just to save this girl?"

"Because…" said Sarada. She turned her head in a way that faced both Bolt and the kidnapper. "I never go back on my word…because that is my nindo…my ninja way."

Bolt looked at Sarada with wide eyes for a while as the girl gave him the closest thing she could give to a genuine smile. After looking into her face for a little while, Bolt smiled as well.

"Geez," said the Mist ninja, "if you kids keep throwing that cliché around, it's gonna lose its impact."

Bolt got up next to Sarada. "Thanks Sarada…" he said, "I needed that."

"Don't worry about it," she said in response, "I just hope you're ready to do something about it."

"Yeah," smiled Bolt, "but we're gonna have to think creatively on this one…"

"You got a plan?" said Sarada.

"I think so."

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><p>I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. I sure enjoyed writing it! Chapter 7 coming soon.<p> 


	7. An Uchiha After All

Hello readers! I am now in Singapore which will be my last destination before I go back home to the States. Unfortunately, my computer broke, so I'm trying to upload this chapter via iPad. Hopefully it works out! If any of you feel the need to rate and review, please do not hesitate to do so! Oh! and Happy New Year!

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><p>"Well!" shouted the Mist ninja, "if that's the way you kids want to play it!"<p>

He took his sword and quickly sliced Himawari in two almost forcing Bolt to vomit. Yet, Himawari only poofed and turned into logs with the real little girl appearing under a tree a ways away from the battle field.

Sarada quickly put her hand on Bolt's shoulder as he recovered from seeing a dummy of his sister be decapitated.

"It's okay Bolt, it was just a log, again."

Bolt gasped for breath for a while. "Why exactly are there random logs just lying around a forest. I mean, I get it if it's a tree trunk, but when was the last time you were walking around the forest and saw a bunch of discarded logs that you could use to take on human images?"

"Now's not the time!" said Sarada.

Bolt nodded. "Look Sarada…We actually have a bit of flexibility. I don't think he can kill us, since killing us would be a huge problem for him."

"That's right! That explains why he didn't actually pick up Himawari."

"Yeah…and I think I've got a plan. Do you see these?"

"Demon Wind Shuriken?" said Sarada.

"Yeah," said Bolt, "I stole them off of Inojin."

"Normally I'd scold you, but this is different. Do you have a plan?"

"Kind of," said Bolt, "but we'll have to be really lucky. Thankfully, he kind of underestimates us."

"Look kids," said the ninja, "I've you're done talking, I'd like to…"

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" exclaimed Sarada as she blew another fireball at the ninja.

The Mist ninja did not expect a sudden blast of fire, but thanks to his water jutsu, defended himself, resulting in a large amount of steam covering the battlefield.

"Wow!" said the ninja, a little excited, "I didn't expect you to be able to do two!"

"I can do three a day!" exclaimed a girl's voice from the steam.

"Sarada!" exclaimed Bolt's voice in annoyance, "don't tell him that!"

The Mist ninja gave a loud laugh. "You kids have no battle experience whatsoever!"

The steam began to clear. As it began to dissipate, the Mist ninja could notice the figures of Bolt and Sarada in front of him.

"Ha!" laughed the Mist ninja, "there you are!"

As he began to charge, he noticed a large, black object flying toward him. In surprise, he jumped into the air.

"A Demon Wind Shuriken!" thought the Ninja in surprise, "where did these kids manage to get one of those?"

The Shuriken missed the ninja and found itself lodged into a tree at the edge of the battle field.

"Well!" shouted the ninja as he descended to the ground. The steam had cleared and he could see Bolt and Sarada clearly. "I'll admit that was good, but not good enough…what?"

The Sarada, standing next to Bolt suddenly poofed, revealing itself to actually be a large toad.

"Alright Gamakichi!" shouted Bolt, "I can't believe I summoned you this time!"

"Ha!" laughed Gamakichi, "sure beats the tadpoles, huh kid?"

"Never mind that!" said Bolt, "do it now!"

"Sheesh you're annoying!" said the toad. "Toad Oil Bullet!"

The mist ninja suddenly turned around to realize that the Demon Wind Shuriken had actually poofed into Sarada.

"Fire Style!" she yelled, "Fire Ball Jutsu!"

The Toad Oil and the Fire Ball collided as they hit the Mist ninja, enveloping the entire battlefield in an array of flames.

"Fire Style!" smirked Bolt, "Toad Flame Bomb."

Now finished with the attack, Bolt and Gamakichi ran over toward's Himawari's body.

"Alright Gamakichi!" said Bolt, "I need you to bring Himawari back to the village!"

"Heh," said Gamakichi, "sure, why no…"

Gamakichi suddenly poofed away, leaving Bolt alone with Himawari in his arms.

"Gamakichi?" said Bolt in shock. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" he exclaimed realizing that his chakra was not controlled well enough to keep Gamakichi around a little longer. "Now is when I needed you!"

Sarada looked over at Bolt with a bit of sympathy in her eyes. She wanted to feel bad, but it all seemed a little funny. That was, until it happened.

"Alright…" said a voice from the fire. "I'm tired of this shit. I've played ninja with you kids for long enough, but now…now I'm mad!"

He ran out of the flames and grabbed Sarada by the collar. She was completely shocked that he had resisted the bomb, but realized that he must have turned into water at the last minute.

"It was really clever of you, disguising the girl as a shuriken and that toad as that girl. And to think it was to use a high powered jutsu to make Toad Flame Bombs! You kids probably think you're real ninjas now, huh? Well, if you kids want to be real ninjas, let me be the one to showyou what that means!"

He lifted his hand and gave Sarada a hard punch in the face, breaking her glasses. Seeing hand to hand combat, Bolt's jaw dropped.

"Sarada!" he shouted.

"Bolt!" exclaimed Sarada, "run!"

"No!" said Bolt, "I can't leave you!"

"BOLT!" exclaimed Sarada, "go! Save you sister!"

"NO!" shouted Bolt, "I can't leave you here to die!"

"Bolt…" said Sarada, as she took another forceful punch in her stomach. "If you care about me…then you would go. If he kills me…then…he'll come after you next. Whatever you do Bolt…protect Himawari…"

She took another punch in the stomach and coughed a little blood.

"Sarada…"

"GO!" she shouted. "Or else I'll hate you forever!"

Bolt gulped and picked up his sister. "Thank you…Sarada…you're probably one of the strongest ninja's I'll ever know…I'm glad…I'm glad I had the honor of meeting you."

As he prepared to go, the Mist ninja suddenly dropped Sarada to the ground. "Where do you think you're going? I'm going to do the same to you as I did to your little girlfriend!"

Realizing that the ninja intended to follow him as well, Bolt quickly rushed into the woods, protecting his sister by any means necessary. The Mist ninja quickly followed him, deciding he would get more ransom money off the Hokage's children anyway.

As the others disappeared, Sarada lay on the ground of the forest. She felt the great amount of pain on her body, but realized that she was going to survive, and because of that, she smiled a little.

She thought of Bolt and his willingness to stand by her, even at the threat of hisand his sister's life. She imagined his deep blue eyes, bright blonde hair and his glowing, beautiful smile. She could almost hear his booming, excited voice that would interrupt so many of Aburame-sensei's classes. Bolt always had something to say, and being him, meant he always had something to scream, and as annoying as he was to her, Sarada couldn't help admiring him.

"You…" thought Sarada, "you who is noticed by the whole Village…the Troublemaker…the Prankster Prince…the Hokage's Son. You Bolt, who everyone acknowledges…if even negatively…I was…I was finally able to make you acknowledge me."

Her smile grew to cover her face, being absolutely sincere, she didn't smile for anyone else but herself.

"And…I'm one of the strongest ninja's you've known?" Her already large smile grew a little larger. "And why not? I am an Uchiha, after all."

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><p>I hope you enjoyed! The next chapter is coming soon!<p> 


	8. Blatant Plagiarism no Jutsu

Hello everyone! It's a little on the short side, but its here, chapter 8! Enjoy. If the need to review is building inside of you, please don't hesitate to do so!

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><p>Bolt, holding Himawari in his arms, leaned on a tree in the woods, praying that the ninja would not find him. As he slowly edged his way toward the Village, he occasionally stopped by certain trees to hide. As he knew the land, he knew exactly where the best hiding spots were, for he remembered using them when he used to play hide and seek with his family.<p>

"Well, well, well," laughed the Mist ninja as he paraded around the forest. "Where exactly could you be?"

It was obvious that the rage that had accumulated in the ninja had begun to subside as he was now returning to his more casual self.

"You really are a troublesome one, aren't you kid?"

As Bolt continued to hide, he could sense the ninja come closer, and closer, and closer, until…

"Hello…"

Bolt suddenly turned his head around to see the ninja in front of him. He glanced quickly around the tree to see that the ninja he had thought was approaching was but a water clone.

"Look kid," laughed the ninja, "at your age, you've probably used up all your chakra…why don't you just call it a day…"

As Bolt looked into the ninja's eyes, his fist clenched.

"Yeah, well why don't you go fuck yourself?!"

Bolt set down Himawari and jumped up at the ninja's face. As the ninja did not expect Bolt to have much willpower left, he was not expecting Bolt's unpredictable attack and did not defend himself as Bolt landed a solid punch on his face.

"Whoa!" shouted the ninja. He returned with a much stronger punch, pushing Bolt back to the tree.

"'Why don't you go fuck yourself?'" repeated the ninja. "Is that the famous wit of Bolt Uzumaki? Ha! I guess some things are just over exaggerated."

With that he picked up Bolt and landed a collection of punches on his face and stomach.

"I'll admit," laughed the ninja, "you're a persistent little bitch. But even those have to cave sooner or later."

As Bolt took the punches, he also coughed up blood.

"Damn it…" he thought as he felt he would face the same fate as Sarada, which for all he knew could have been death. "What am I going to do…shit…"

He suddenly thought about his parents, he thought about Himawari, and he even thought about Sarada. "Bolt…" said Sarada's voice in Bolt's head. "If you care about me…then you would go. If he kills me…then…he'll come after you next. Whatever you do Bolt…protect Himawari…"

Bolt suddenly gritted his teeth. Opening his eyes, he looked into the vicious eyes of the ninja in front of him. Bolt lifted up his fist and attempted to land a punch only to be blocked by the ninja. With one of the ninja's hand holding his collar and the other holding his fist, Bolt lifted up his feet and slammed the ninja's stomach as hard has he could. A large amount of wind leaving the ninja's body, he let go of Bolt who landed on the ground.

"Come on…I was able to summon one before…I need more now!" thought Bolt.

Bolt put his hands in a cross. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" thought Bolt. In a poof, four other Bolts appeared.

"Only four…" thought Bolt, then suddenly he gave a smirk, "just enough."

"Let me show you something I learned from my Uncle Kiba!" said Bolt, his clones coming at the ninja from different sides.

"Oh really?" smirked the ninja as he lifted up his sword, "and how much force does it take to destroy a few clones? Do you think me such a weakling?"

"Well maybe you should focus on this!" shouted Bolt as he threw the second Demon Wind Shuriken directly at the ninja. The ninja's eyes widened as he jumped out of the way.

"A second Demon Wind Shuriken?" thought the Ninja, "he had two?"

With his mind on the Shuriken, one of Bolt's shadow clone's made contact with the ninja.

"I call this move Blatant Plagiarism!"

The ninja raised an eyebrow. "What?" he finally said.

"Blatant Plagiarism no Jutsu!" shouted Bolt.

The four clones pounced on the Mist ninja.

"Bo!"

"Ru!"

"To!"

Coming at the ninja from all sides, the Mist ninja was flung into the air, realizing he was coming into contact with Bolt's leg.

"Uzumaki Barrage!" shouted Bolt as he drove the Mist ninja directly into the forest floor.

As the ninja smashed into the floor, Bolt gave a smirk and a thumbs up.

"And another one bites the dust!" he shouted while his clones poofed away.

Looking around, Bolt was a little disappointed that he could not make them stick around a little longer, but he collected himself.

"Alright…" he thought, looking at Himawari then back at the center of the battlefield. "I think that…"

Turning back, he saw that the Mist ninja was straightening up his back, moving his shoulders and cracking his neck.

"Well kid," smirked the Ninja, "I'm surprised you had it in you…but now…I don't care anymore."

He pulled the sword from his back and held it in a fighting position.

"I don't care about ransoms anymore…you're going to die…"

Bolt's eyes widened as he made hand signs to try and do anything, but having drained too much of his chakra, he couldn't do anything.

The Mist ninja slowly approached Bolt. "Well kid, it's been fun, but honestly…I'm going to enjoy doing this!"

The Mist ninja ran at Bolt, who, realizing he could not do anything, closed his eyes in fear. He paused for a moment, waiting for the inevitable to overtake him. He stood for a second…then two…then three…then four. After about twelve seconds, he opened his eyes and gasped.

The giant sword was on its way to crack open Bolt's brain, but it had been stopped by a smaller blade held by a man dressed completely in black. Seeing the two blades clashing in front of him, Bolt looked into the face of the Mist ninja who looked completely stupefied by the man who was defending Bolt.

"So…" said the Mist ninja, "it's you…"

The man in black gave a nod.

"And what," said the Mist ninja, "may I ask is your reason for being here?"

The man in black smirked. "Ha. Is it wrong for a man to visit his old Village."

The Mist ninja gave a pout. "Oh…it's been so long…you really fucked us over…you know that right?"

The man in black ignored the question and pushed back the huge sword with his katana. Since he had taken the risk of blocking the end of the large sword with the part of his katana that was closer to his hand, he was able to push the butcher's sword away with ease.

"Now…" said the man, "what exactly do you want from these kids?"

The Mist ninja smirked. "Nothing really, just wanted to make some easy money. But if that means fighting you…then I'm not really interested."

The Mist ninja jumped into the tree. "You got lucky this time kid. I really would have killed you, you know?"

"And as for you," the Mist ninja continued looking toward the man in black, "We'll meet again, so I'll save my words for that fateful day."

With those words, the Mist ninja disappeared, fading into the sunset evening made artificially dark by the dense woods.

Bolt was in shock, looking at where the ninja had stood, the man in black whose back was turned to him, and Himawari's sleeping body.

The man in black walked over to Himawari and took her up in his arm.

"Come with me kid," he said in his dark threatening voice. Bolt had no choice but to obey.

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><p>What did you all think? Would you have prefered for Bolt to defeat the ninja? I was thinking about it, but, being an academy student and all, I really don't think he would be able to defeat a fully trained Mist ninja. Anyway, here's the chapter, I'll see you all next week!<p> 


	9. ThoseWhiskers

Hey everyone! It's chapter 9! Only one more to go!

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><p>As the man in black laid down Himawari's sleeping body to the ground, he slowly began to turn around. Bolt backed away with a little fear. He didn't know what to expect from a stranger who was jumping around the outskirts of a village dressed in all black. As Bolt met eyes with the man, he noticed the man's solid, chiseled chin and cold, examining eyes. The man stared at Bolt, and as both their eyes began to adjust more and more to the dark the man's eyes slowly grew wider and began to twitch. The man leaned his head closer and closer toward Bolt. Now, only his eyes but his whole face was also twitching all over. Slowly, the man's mouth began to open, his lower jaw twitching. Bolt, shaking with fear backed away, not knowing what to expect. They stayed in that position for a second or two until the edges of the man's mouth began to curve upwards.<p>

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" laughed the man in one of the loudest voices Bolt had ever heard. The man, howling with laughter, backed away from Bolt as he clutched his stomach in his hands, lifting his face up to the sky.

At the first sound of the man's loud voice, Bolt became afraid, but upon realizing the man seemed to be laughing at him, he became annoyed. As he sat for a good two minutes listening to the man drone on and one in laughter, rolling on the floor and grabbing hold of a tree for a while, Bolt eventually spoke up.

"What?" questioned Bolt, an annoyed look on his face.

The man, still continuing in laughter, "that hair…that face…those eyes…those…whiskers…"

"HAHAHAHAHA!" the man exclaimed again as he did his best to gain his composure.

Bolt, still annoyed, continued watching the man as he burst out in laughter a while longer.

"Getting really tired of this shit…"

"Forgive me," laughed the man, finally gaining his composure. "It's just…undeniable. You must be the son of the Seventh Hokage."

Bolt's eyes widened. "You know me?"

The man gave a half smile, still holding back the laughter. "Let's just say, I'm well acquainted with your father."

The two of them sat in silence for a moment , when suddenly a realization came to Bolt's head. "Wait! Inojin and Sarada! We have to bring them back to the Village!"

The man nodded. "I will take care of it. Don't worry, rest here for a while until your sister wakes up."

The man made a hand sign with his good hand. "Release," he said. The little girl began to squirm.

"She's fine," said the man, "not hurt at all. We'll just wait until she wakes up naturally."

Bolt nodded. "Okay."

Bolt noticed that the three of them had been transferred to a cliff from which Bolt could see the entire village. The sun had almost set over the horizon, but it was still an etching of daylight that enveloped the entire premises.

"It's beautiful, huh?" said the man with a smirk on his face. "The Village Hidden in the Leaves…or Village of Dancing Leaves…whatever, it's the Leaf Village."

Bolt gave a shrug. "It's okay I guess."

The man raised an eyebrow. "What? The son of the Seventh Hokage doesn't love his Village?"

Bolt shrugged. "It's kind of stupid you know? I mean, it's a military village, but it tries to play this big peaceful game. It's downright phony."

The man scoffed, "Alright Holden, don't get your whiskers in a twist."

The man chuckled for a bit about the jab on whiskers.

"Everyone needs a place to call home," he said, "It's really something special. Especially when you have good friends…who would do anything to bring you back. I was really lucky to have people like that…"

Bolt raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you wandering around like some sort of spook? If all these people want you back so bad, just go?"

The man in black looked toward the village. While his hard, determined face did not seem to change, Bolt noticed a small hint of sadness from one of his eyes.

"Sometimes," the man began, "sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I went back. Sometimes I even want to go back. To hold my daughter. To kiss my wife on her large forehead. To have a cup of tea or a bowl of ramen with my best friend. To go back and pretend like, like I never left. As if I always belonged there. As if, somehow, in another time or place, that I had always been a part of their lives and they a part of mine."

Bolt frowned a little bit. "I guess…" said Bolt, "I guess we all just want to belong somewhere. But, what's keeping you from going back?"

The man took a hard look at the Village. It was lighted up for the festival. The streets were filled with colors of lights and the city that emerged was also lighted up.

"They used to call these places Hidden Villages," said the man stoically, "Guess they're not very hidden anymore."

Bolt scowled at the fact that the man didn't answer his question. "Places are always hiding something. This city might look chipper and peaceful as fuck, but really, it's in as much of a war as in the before times."

The man smirked. "And what do you know of war?"

"War is the way we get what we want without having to go through stupid negotiations! It makes things fast and quick! A few soldiers here, a ninja squad or two there, and bang! No more wasted time traveling to villages to negotiate or holding conferences to keep the peace!"

The man let out a huge laugh piercing the night sky. "No way!" he exclaimed. "is that what you really think! I mean, you're just a kid, but considering who your father is, I figured you'd probably know better!"

The man sat down on a stone and reached into his bag, pulling out something wrapped up in paper.

"No kid," said the man with a confused tone of amusement and depression. "'Dying like trash…never ending hatred…pain that never heals…that is war.'"

"Sounds like a quote," peeped Bolt.

"It was."

"Was it from an important person?"

"Kid," smirked the man, "you don't know the half of it."

As he removed the paper, the man ran his fingers along a head band that had a huge scar running across the metal. Feeling the cut, a small tear manifested in his eye, but he quickly wiped it off before the kid would notice.

As the two sat in silence for a while, they heard a small scurry next to them. Looking to their side they saw Himawari's eyes open.

"Big Brother?" called Himawari in her adorable little voice.

Hearing her voice, Bolt rushed over to his little sister.

"Himawari!" exclaimed Bolt, "Himawari! Are you alright?"

Himawari smiled and nodded. "Yes I am big brother, I'm okay…what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

As Bolt forced back the tears, he held Himawari close to his body.

"No reason…no reason at all…Big Brother is just…is just…happy that you're back."

"Big Brother? Why are you crying? Wait, where are we?"

The man smirked as he watched the two little kids embrace each other. Realizing that self imposed mini-mission was accomplished he decided that he should be back to his own business.

"Alright kid," said the man, standing up from the rock, "you better be getting back to your parents, and I better be on my way."

"But wait! What about Sarada and Inojin?"

The man looked at the boy and nodded. "I told you, I'll bring them back. Don't worry, just go back to your parents."

Bolt stared at the man and nodded. "Are you sure? I can help."

"Don't worry," said the man. "I will take care of them."

Bolt nodded, satisfied by the man's answer. "Okay."

The man went on and picked up the little girl, who although a little intimidated by the hard looking man, tried her best to be pleasant when she realized the man was smiling at her.

"So this is your sister, huh?"

"Yeah," said Bolt, "she's a sweet girl…I'm kind of mad she got mixed up in all of this."

"My name is Himawari!"

The man smiled. "Well, just make sure you be a good big brother."

Bolt smiled. "Yeah. I will."

"Big Brother Bolt is the best big brother in the world."

The man smiled as if he was reminiscing. "No, that's not true," he thought to himself, careful not to say it.

"If someone bullies her, don't be afraid to flex some muscle. And if your parents push her too hard, step up to protect her," the man said to Bolt.

Bolt nodded at the man's command.

The man put Himawari back on the ground and began to turn away.

"Oh!" he exclaimed as he turned back to the young academy student. "And if you ever concoct some big plan that would determine and influence every aspect of the rest of her life. Make sure to fill her in on it!"

"...Um…okay," said Bolt, a little confused, "I will…I guess…"

"I'm not kidding, kid!" exclaimed the man, "if you ever, and I mean ever, plan on doing something that big, TELL HER!"

"Fine! Fine! I will!" said Bolt, still completely confused.

The man turned away. But seeing the back of his head, Bolt was suddenly compelled to speak.

"Hey Mister!" exclaimed Bolt.

The man turned around with a raised eyebrow. "Yes?" he responded.

Bolt, although he had seen the man in a compromising and a vulnerable position was still pretty threatened by his daunting figure which hung over him like a cloud.

"I don't know who your family is," said the young blonde haired boy, "but…I think I have a good idea. And if I'm right…then they want to see you as much as you want to see them. I think…I think you should go see them, because then…well…then maybe you'd understand each other."

Bolt stared at the man who stared back at him. Slowly but surely, a small smile emerged on the man's lips.

"You really are your father's son," the man laughed as he shook his head. The man reached into his bag and pulled out a small book. "Here you go kid," said the man.

"What is it?" asked Bolt.

"This is a special book I found in a library in the Hidden Cloud Village. I thought it didn't belong there, so I stole it."

Bolt opened the book. "Hey!" he said, "this is a book of jutsus!"

The man nodded. "That's a dossier of jutsu's used by a famous Leaf Ninja. Back during the war times, ninjas used to steal other people's jutsus to use in combat."

Bolt read the title. "'File No.38: Minato Namikaze'", read Bolt, "hey! That name sounds familiar…but where?..."

The man raised an eyebrow as if to say "…really?", but in the end he just scoffed.

"Good luck kid," he smiled before walking off into the dark.

"Hey!" said Bolt, "thank you! When the man was finally out of sight, Bolt smiled. "Thank you Mr. Uchiha…thank you for everything."

"Big Brother?" asked Himawari.

"Yeah?" responded Bolt.

"Who was that?"

Bolt smiled a bit. "He's Dad's best friend."

"Oh," said Himawari, "how come we've never met him before?"

Bolt shrugged. "I guess he's busy too."

"Oh…" said Himawari, "that's too bad. I bet his kids miss him too."

A smile materialized on Bolt's face as he nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure she does."

Himawari raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say it was a girl…"

Bolt shook his head. "Hey Himawari! Speaking of Dad, let's go see him and Mom!"

"Yay!" said Himawari. She looked down at the village. "But they're so far away…"

"You're tired?" laughed Bolt, "but you've just been sleeping."

"Yeah about that…" asked Himawari, "why did I fall asleep at your training ground and wake up here?"

Bolt paused for a second, then laughed. "It's a long story. But if you're still tired, you can ride on my back."

"Really!" exclaimed Himawari, "you won't mind!"

"Not at all!"

Himawari jumped on Bolt's back, wrapping her arms around her brother's neck and her legs around her brother's body.

Bolt grabbed on to Himawari's legs and began walking down the mountain ledges toward the Village.

"Faster Big Brother! Faster!"

"Haha! Alright," laughed Bolt as the two of them descended the mountain.

Seeing them from the distance, the man in black smiled as he watched the two siblings run and laugh together.

"Bolt…" thought the man, "you still have a long ways to go, but as long as you have those bonds, you will be strong. And perhaps, your name could be as great as your father and his father before him. You have the potential." Sasuke turned toward the road and smirked "I mean...you've already begun to make a name for yourself anyway. My throat is still sore from The Curry Incident…!"

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><p>Well everyone, I hope you enjoyed chapter 9. Chapter 10 will be out next week. It's the finale, so hopefully you'll all enjoy it!<p> 


	10. Things Worth Learning

Well my good people, it's been a fun ride, but here's the last chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this story. Thank you for all your support and kindness along the way. I'll be heading back to the U.S. tomorrow, so it's great for me to reread my story since it evokes memories of my Asian travels.

All the best.

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><p>"Daddy! Mommy!" exclaimed Himawari as she jumped into her father's arms. Naruto and Hinata held their daughter in their arms, then, they looked down to their son.<p>

"Bolt!" scolded Hinata, "where have you been? When I said that you two could go out on your own, I never expected that you would take this long! The fireworks are about to start!"

Bolt made a face as he looked away from his parent. "Sorry…" he mumbled underneath his breath.

"I don't want to hear that, young man!" said Naruto.

Bolt cringed. He knew that his Dad was going to give his "what it means to be a ninja" speech.

"You were gone so long that we were starting to worry! We know that this is a time of peace, but staying so long out of our sight was completely irresponsible! If you ever want to grow up to be a great ninja, you have to start taking care of your share of responsibilities..."

"Stop Daddy!" said Himawari loudly, "Bolt wasn't goofing off. He was saving me!"

Hinata smiled at her daughter. "And what do you mean by that, Sweetheart?"

"A scary man came into the Village!" exclaimed Himawari, "he made me sleepy, but Bolt and his friend were able to save me!"

"That's nice Dear…" began Naruto, barely listening, until the facts connected in his head, "Wait, what?!"

Hinata and Naruto looked at each other with wide eyes, shocked at what her daughter had just said.

"Himawari!" said Naruto, anxious but doing his best to avoid scaring his daughter, "what did the man look like?"

Himawari rubbed her chin with her fingers and looked up at the night sky.

"Well," she began, "I feel asleep really quick, so I didn't get to see…"

"He wore a mask," said Bolt, looking up at his parents. "And he had a big sword. It was black and it looked like a huge butcher knife."

"Bolt, Himawari," began Naruto, "are you completely sure about this? You have to be completely sure!"

"Yes, Daddy!" exclaimed Himawari, "it was really scary!"

Naruto and Hinata exchanged frightened glances. "Well…" said Naruto to his son, "I guess this changes things."

"Even though," Hinata chimed in, "you really should have come to us if something like that happened!"

"But since you did such a good job protecting your sister," Naruto said with a cheeky smile, "I guess I can let you off the hook…just this once."

Bolt smiled back at his father. "Thanks Dad," Bolt said.

"Well," said Naruto, "in any case, let go see those fireworks! They'll be starting any minute now!" Naruto turned to his daughter. "Himawari, do you want to sit on my shoulders?"

Himawari smiled but shook her head. "No Daddy," she said as she gestured for him to let her down.

When Naruto complied, Himawari walked over and embraced her brother. "I want to watch the fireworks with Bolt!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is that so?"

"Yup!" said Himawari happily, "Uncle Sai said to watch the fireworks with someone who is special to you, and I want to watch them with Bolt!"

Naruto and Hinata grinned and Bolt smiled down at his sister.

"What do you say, Big Brother?" asked Himawari.

Bolt looked up at his parents. "Would that be okay?"

Naruto let out a loud laugh. "Of course it would be! But…" and with the second sentence his voice dropped, "…let's try to stay together as a family. Just in case. Something could happen."

Naruto gave his son a nod and Bolt nodded back, understanding what he meant. As Naruto stood back up he looked over to an ANBU black op that was standing by the wayside and gave a nod. The ANBU suddenly disappeared with the Body Flicker Jutsu.

With that settled, Naruto and his family wandered off to find a place to watch the night's fireworks. It had barely been four hours since Himawari was kidnapped.

As Naruto began to slowly walk behind his kids with Hinata under his arms, he felt Hinata tug at his collar, urging him to look at her.

"Naruto…" whispered Hinata, "a stranger in the village? What does it mean?"

Naruto looked at his wife's face. He really didn't know what to say, so in the end he shrugged his shoulders. "It means Sai's getting fired, that's what…"

Hinata slapped her husband's shoulder. "Oh come on, he's your teammate!" she said.

Naruto laughed as the honorable family made their way to see the fireworks. Only four hours, and yet, life before those four hours seemed so far back, like an story from times long past.

Sakura slept soundly in her bed. The festivities had ended and she and her daughter had long returned home before her and gone to bed. As she slept through the night, her eyes suddenly popped open. Even though Sakura was no longer an active ninja, she still retained a variety of skills and now, she knew someone was in the house.

Sakura got up quickly and walked out of her room. With her back to the wall, she turned her head around the corner to see a light was on in the kitchen. Looking through the crack of the door in Sarada's room, Sakura could see that her daughter was fast asleep. Quietly, Sakura inched toward the kitchen, planning how she would engage the intruder.

She waited for the perfect moment to strike, and suddenly, Sakura jumped into the kitchen, wielding a kunai.

"Who are you?!" she exclaimed as she pounced on the intruder.

As she ran into the kitchen, Sakura was quickly stopped by the feeling of two fingers on her forehead.

"Oh…hey…" said the intruder.

Sakura blinked. "Sasuke!" she exclaimed quietly, in fear of waking her daughter. "What are you doing in the Leaf Village? What are you doing in my house? …Why are you eating my food?"

Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized he was caught raiding Sakura's refrigerator.

Sasuke shrugged. "Sorry about that Sakura, it's just a few tomatoes. You won't even miss them."

Sakura sighed. "Well, sit down. As long as you're here, I'll make you something to eat."

Sasuke took a seat at the kitchen table while Sakura took out some food to cook.

"So was that all you came here to do?" asked Sakura, a little frustrated, "Come back, take some food from my fridge and leave?"

Sasuke scoffed. "Come on Sakura. You know me better than that."

"Do I?" asked Sakura.

Sasuke gave himself a scowl and looked onto the wooden table. "I…I just wanted to see Sarada."

Sakura, who was intently cutting up some vegetable to put in her stew, suddenly stopped at looked at Sasuke.

"Oh?"

"Yeah…" said Sasuke, "I…haven't seen her for so long. My…she's really grown a lot."

"You know Sasuke," said Sakura, "you can come and see her whenever you like."

"I know," said Sasuke, "but…"

"But what?" asked Sakura, a little angry. "Look Sasuke! She's your daughter as much as mine! She wants to see her father. Did you know what she said to me today?"

Sasuke began to open his mouth.

"No, of course you don't. And you know why? Because you're so busy running around the world doing who knows what!"

There was a silence in the kitchen for a little while.

"What did she say?" asked Sasuke, curious.

Sakura gave a sigh. "When I asked her to wear the sash with the Uchiha fan…she didn't want to. She said that…she wasn't an Uchiha."

Sasuke lowered his head toward the table, greatly distrubed. "Shit."

"Yeah," said Sakura, "it's so sad."

Sakura remained silent for a little while, thinking. The tension in the kitchen was thick and both Sasuke and Sakura knew it.

"Sasuke…" began Sakura, "I don't know if you care about me…and frankly…I don't care if you don't love me. But please, be there for Sarada. She needs her father. How do you expect me to raise an Uchiha without you? How can she be an Uchiha without an Uchiha to guide her?"

Sasuke got out of his chair and approached Sakura. Using his one good arm, he wrapped it around Sakura's body and pulled her to himself so that her ear was to his lips.

"I don't care about you?" asked Sasuke, "who put that stupid thought in your head?"

Sakura, trembling slightly, scoffed. "You did. Your silence speaks even louder than words."

Sasuke kissed Sakura's cheek and moved down to her neck. Sakura enjoyed her husband's kiss for a little while until she forced him away.

"Sasuke, stop," she said sternly, "now sit down. Your stew is ready."

Sasuke obliged and picked up his spoon, eating slowly. Sakura took a seat at the table so that she was to his right.

Sakura stared blankly at her eating husband who couldn't help but look at her every once in a while.

Sasuke got a little smirk on his face. "What happened to that little girl who used to do anything and everything for me?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow and gave an equally cheeky smirk. "Every woman wants to protect her family. Even if it's from themselves."

Sasuke shrugged. "Sakura…" he began, "let's be honest. You know you're right. I know you're right. You're right. I'm sorry I'm not there for Sarada, but there is still a lot that I have to do. You understand, right?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Again with this…"

"Sakura," Sasuke said in dead seriousness, putting his spoon down to take her hand, "Suigetsu was in the village tonight."

Sakura looked at Sasuke, shocked at his words. "What?! Suigetsu!"

"Yeah…" said Sasuke, "that's why Sarada was all beaten up when she got home."

"It was Suigetsu!" exclaimed Sakura, "she said she had run into bandits! I didn't expect she'd run into a high level ninja like him! What was he doing here?"

Sasuke looked back down at his food. "I don't know," he said, "all I know was that he tried to kidnap the Uzumaki girl."

"Himawari!" exclaimed Sakura, unable to hold back her shock, "Is she safe? We have to tell Naruto and Hinata!"

"Don't worry, Sakura," said Sasuke, trying to calm Sakura down, "everyone is safe. There's no need to be too worried."

"It's just...what would your old team be doing here?"

Sasuke sighed. "I don't know Sakura," he said quietly. "I told you before…that this last journey was for me to atone for all the evil I caused. And now, it's time for me to destroy Taka."

"Are you going to kill them?" asked Sakura.

"I'll do what I have to," Sasuke said quietly. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly very good at Naruto's way of handling things. I don't know what it'll come to, but I have to do this. This last thing."

Sakura was silent as she stared at the table. "You know Sasuke," she said, "I hate to be the one to tell you this, but it's kind of your fault that those three are causing trouble for us right now."

Sasuke sighed. "I know. That's why this isn't going to be easy."

As the two spoke there were gentle footsteps approaching from the other room. Slowly stepping into the kitchen, a tired looking Sarada entered, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Mom?" asked Sarada with a sleepy voice. "I thought I heard you talking to someone."

As Sarada put on a spare set of glasses, her jaw dropped to see both of her parents sitting at the kitchen table.

"…Dad?" Sarada asked with a quivering voice, not believing that her father was really before her eyes. "Dad…you're back…"

Seeing his daughter, a small smile emerged on Sasuke's face. He lifted up his good arm toward his daughter.

"Sarada…" he said softly.

Quickly, Sarada jumped into her father's arm. "Dad!" she exclaimed, tears falling from her eyes. "You're back! You're back! I missed you so much. I haven't seen you for three years now. Where have you been? Why didn't you come home!..."

Sakura looked at her daughter with pity. "Sarada…" said Sakura gently, "Dad is only going to be here for a little while. He has something very important to do."

Seeing the crying girl at his chest, Sasuke put his hand over Sarada's head, pushing it closer into his body as it was the only way that he was able to embrace.

"Well…" Sasuke said, in a warm tone. "I suppose, I can stay in the Leaf Village…for a few more days."

Sakura smiled as she saw the way Sasuke looked at his daughter. He had a soft smile, and little diamonds of tears had begun to form in his own eyes.

Sarada began to sob loudly out of delight. "Tomorrow…" Sarada said, her voice quavering from her cries, "tomorrow…can we go to the training ground? I want to show you a special jutsu that I learned. Mom taught it to me. I've wanted to show you for a long time…"

Sasuke smiled as he patted his daughter's head. "Sure we can."

Late in the night, Bolt, hiding under his covers, stayed up, reading the special inscription that he had received from the Hermit. As he flipped through the pages, his eyes widened as he saw the long lists of jutsus which had been compiled on Minato Namikaze.

"Look at this one!" he whispered to himself.

"And this one!"

"Wow!"

Suddenly, reading the title of the next page, Bolt had half a mind to shut the book.

"Rasengan, again! Why does everyone seem to want me to learn this one!"

While Bolt made a small ruckus, he turned the page and was suddenly silent.

"Whoa! What is this jutsu!"

Silence enveloped the room as Bolt read away at the book in his hands, absorbing everything from the page like a sponge.

"Well…" Bolt thought with a smirk, "I guess there are some things worth learning after all."

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><p>Well, what did you all think? I was thinking of expanding the story into one where Sasuke hunts down the old Taka members, but then I realized it would turn into Red Dead Rinnegan or something. I hope you enjoyed and, of course, if the spirit within you petitions you to review, please do not hesitate to do so.<p> 


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